


Sometimes Life Drops Right Into Your Lap

by BytemeGeekette



Series: Sometimes Life [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), olicity - Fandom
Genre: Au Olicity, F/M, First Meetings, Tommy/Laurel - Freeform, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-01 12:26:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 80,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4019701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BytemeGeekette/pseuds/BytemeGeekette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU - Oliver, recently unengaged decides a vacation away from Starling is a good idea. He just needs a change, little does he know that he's just one flight away from a life changing meeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sometimes Life Drops Right Into Your Lap

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing Arrow related. Well besides a couple comics and the seasons, but whatever you get my gist. The characters are most definitely not mine.
> 
> A/n: I had this kind of floating around in my head for a few days, sat down and decided to hammer it out. Just so happens I finished it the same day as a tumblr friend's birthday. This was gifted to diggo26.

Oliver walked down the jetway shifting his heavy pack on his back as he entered the plane. One last check of his ticket reminded him just how last minute this trip was. Seat 29 C. Aisle seat. In economy. He sighed and slowly shuffled down the aisle. Waiting as patiently as he could while other passengers slowly negotiated where to put their carry-ons.

He helped an elderly woman lift hers into the overhead bin. He wondered if it was full of can goods as it felt heavy enough to be. She thanked him with a pat on his cheek. The smell of peppermint on her skin. He nodded and continued to shuffle.

Once at his seat he stowed his bag under the seat in front of him and buckled his belt. He tucked himself in as much as he could. Being six foot 1 didn't leave a lot of space. A moment later he was disturbed when two boys asked him to move so they could take the other two seats in the row. ' _Great kids. I should have taken a later flight and gotten first class.'_

The boys settled once they decided who would sit where. Oliver resettled and leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He didn't want to leave Starling but he needed a break. Ending things with Laurel this time, though not bad were emotionally charged. It was the final time. In truth it should have ended years ago. Long before a shared apartment and an on/off again engagement. He didn't know why he couldn't just be happy with her.

**...**

_"Ollie I don't understand!" Laurel said as she looked at the boxes in the living room. "I thought things were working this time. We've planned so many things together. Why-"_

_"I wish I had some grand explanation, but Laurel, I just don't. I feel trapped here." He had decided the truth was best. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at the floor. "You haven't loved me for more than two years."_

_"I lov-"_

_"That's not the same. I love you too but not in the way that matters. I've seen and heard the way you are with Tommy." Just the day before Tommy had finally confessed his love for Laurel. By the look on Tommy’s face he knew he'd expected a punch, not a hug and groan of relief which he got instead. They’d spent the next couple hours spilling so many other truths that they’d held back from one another._

_"I have no idea what you're talking about Ollie.” Laurel stood staring a hole in the wall next to him. Her eyes purposely avoiding his. He couldn’t help but smile on the inside. She may pretend that he didn’t see the truth, but he did. She was just settling for what she knew, what was easy. Even though it was all wrong and had been for so many years._

_“It’s okay. It doesn’t bother me. It’s actually a relief.”_

_Her eyes moved to his then, some confusion clouded them before shifting into something else. Questions were bubbling under the surface, he’d known her long enough to know those tells. Her eyebrows were almost knit together. She opened her lips as if she wanted to say or ask something several times but nothing came out. Her fingers fiddled with the engagement ring on her finger. One he had no sentimental attachment to. It was just a simple one he’d picked without thought. She deserved so much better than that, better than him._

_He stepped toward her and took her hands into his. “He loves you. More than I ever could.” He gave her fingers a squeeze and kissed her briefly on the cheek. It was wet with tears, he wasn’t sure whether she was relieved yet or if she was just as sad as he was that they’d wasted so much time fighting the inevitable. “Be happy Laurel.”_

_She nodded her head and he let go, and grabbed his backpack and left. The movers would come get his things in an hour and take them back to his parents home for storage. He knew she would be fine. Maybe not that night but sometime in the very near future when Tommy finally took the next step to ask her out._

**...**

“Sir, you’ll need to put your chair in the upright position please, we’re about to depart.”

Oliver was so lost in his memories that he’d missed the announcement. He didn’t look up at the attendant right away as he pulled his seat forward. When he finally looked up he was shocked by the blue that met him. The woman standing in the aisle met his gaze for just a moment before her eyes darted beyond him.

“Sirs, you’ll need to turn off your devices and stow them for take off.” Her voice was firm and commanding. Oliver took the moment to look at her name tag. ‘Felicity S.’ it read in gold block lettering. He watched as her face took on a no nonsense look and he turned to look at the boys. They had that glint in their eyes he just knew meant trouble, he’d after all perfected it himself. “I wasn’t speaking to the window. Now put them away or I’ll have you escorted off this plane.”

The boys snapped into action and Oliver looked back in her direction but she’d already moved on. He got a nice view of her from the side as she shimmied past another attendant and disappeared into the back of the plane. He shook his head and sat back to relax. He was sure he’d see her again, it was afterall a long flight to New York.

He must have dozed off some time after take off. The boys in the seats next to him, kept to themselves for the most part, as soon as they’d been cleared to use their devices again they’d started a game of some sort. Oliver hadn’t thought to bring any entertainment so decided he would just try to sleep instead.

He was woken with a jolt as turbulence rocked the plane, and a small warm body landed in his lap.

“Oh my frack, I’m so sorry sir!” It was the attendant from before, Felicity. She scrambled to try to lift herself out of his lap when the plane dropped again. Her hand landing directly in his lap this time, applying too much pressure. He winced and groaned softly as she brushed against him. “OH FRACK! Sir, really really I apologize, oh god my hands on your-” She tried to stand, grasping the seat and pushing herself up, Oliver helped her his hand, he realized, on her very firm round ass.

“Miss, I’m sorry!” It was his turn to apologize, pulling his hand back at once.

“Oh!” She was upright finally, only to topple forward again on the next bump. Her chest dangerously close to his face. He got a very good whiff of her perfume and he found himself aroused despite the pain from a moment ago. “Oh dear, what a mess!” She gasped.

By the time she was stable a flush covered her skin and both of them were breathing hard. The boys beside him had started to laugh. She threw them a look that shut them up mid snort. She made a concerted effort to fix her uniform, smoothing it before she held her hand out toward him.

“Sir, I’d like to formally apologize on behalf of the airline for basically groping your very well...um I mean landing on your lap and causing any, possible damage to your…” She gestured toward his lap, looking away swiftly and tightened her fingers into a fist. “Wait, this is going wrong. I mean, let me start over. I’m sorry for the plane dumping me on your lap. It’s a very nice lap but still, I should have been able to maintain my balance.”

He chuckled. He couldn’t help it. The chuckle rapidly turned into a laugh and he heard the most beautiful sound as she giggled with him. If any situation called for a laugh it was this one. Never once before had a beautiful woman literally been dropped into his lap. Felicity was very beautiful. Her blond hair was half pulled up, what wasn’t pulled back flowed in curls to just below her shoulders. Her blue eyes sparkled behind her glasses. He held his hand up towards her. “My name is Oliver.”

“Felicity Smoak, and I really am sorry for, pretty much all of that.” She gestured wildly with her other hand.

“It’s really okay.” He squeezed her hand gently before letting her remove it from his grasp. He noted how soft and delicate it had felt in his own.

“Is there anything I can get for you? We’ve still got half the flight left. I’ll bring you anything, on the house for that horrid display and well the almost mentioning touching your... Oh my and I’m stopping in 3… 2…” She looked away, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Felicity,” he tested out her name, and finding he really liked the way it felt rolling off his tongue. Her eyes met his, he smiled. “Honestly, all I need is water.”

She nodded and grinned. “Water is a can do. I’ll return shortly.”

With that she disappeared. He looked around him then, the boys obviously bored returned to their game. Most of the passengers around him though were sound asleep. He wondered what she had been doing when the turbulence hit. Possibly she was filling a request for someone else. That was highly probable given the hour. There hadn’t been a cart or another attendant around.

Oliver shifted in his seat so he could look back in the direction that she had gone. Of all the people that could drop into his lap it was her. He could still smell her perfume in the air and damn if it wasn’t quickly becoming burned into his senses. He watched as she came out carrying a cup of ice and two bottles of water and what looked like a cookie. She smiled at him and bit her lip as she walked up the aisle.

The smile and lip biting did something to him. He shook his head, pushing away sudden indecent images. The minds a dirty place sometimes. He looked up at her as she came to a stop by his seat. He put the tray down in front of him and she set the items on it. “I really do apologize.” She said softly, now not wanting to disturb other people around them.

“Felicity, stop apologizing. Trust me, you didn’t hurt anything, everything seems perfectly fine down-” He stopped and felt himself flush as he realized what he’d almost said. He had to shift in his seat as he watched her go pink and her eyes lock on his lap. He closed his eyes and breathed. “Its perfect, I promise.”

He opened his eyes again and let them find hers. He almost groaned at what he found there. Somewhere between what he’d said and the probable embarrassment she’d made some kind of decision. She leaned forward, her perfume swam in the air around them at her close proximity. Her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered, “Oliver, I can only hope its as perfect as it felt, it would be a shame if it wasn’t. I hope you enjoy the rest of your flight.”

She stood abruptly as a help light binged on several rows ahead. Before he could think or say anything she was gone, and he was hard and uncomfortable. He groaned and tugged at his jeans, her smell lingering long after she was gone. The rest of the flight was uneventful, he’d managed to calm down enough to sleep in fits.

Hours later it was finally time to descend and disembark from the plane. He stood and let the boys go ahead of him. He’d managed to talk to them for a short time. They were twins named Richard and Robert, the were twelve and on their way to visit their father. For the most part they were good travel companions.

He pulled his bag up off the floor and slung it onto his shoulder. It hit something solid and an ‘oomph’ sound came from behind him. He turned and felt instant shame as he realized he’d swung his bag and hit none other than Felicity. “Fuck, Felicity, I’m sorry!”

Felicity laughed and just shook her head. “I’m so clumsy, not usually so while I work but you sir have given me quite the flight.”

“It wasn’t my intention.” He said with a smile, stepping back into the seats so that people behind him could pass. Felicity was in the seat across the aisle from him.

“I know. Look, this may sound so odd…” She fidgeted with her name tag a moment before biting her lip between her lips and letting her eyes finally connect with his. “I’m off duty now so maybe it wouldn’t…”

“Felicity?” Oliver asked, unsure of what she may say, but hoping it was along the lines of wanting to meet up.

“I was just... Well I shouldn’t actually do this as you’re a customer, but I mean I’ve never quite… embarrassed myself as bad ever as I have tonight. If this is your final destination, or if you’re staying here for a little while. I was wondering if maybe-”

“Do you want to get a bite to eat?” He blurted out, catching them both off guard and stopping her mid ramble.

It took her a moment before she nodded, then smiled. “I’d love to.” Her hand went into her vest pocket and pulled out a business card. She waited for another person to pass before handing it to him. “Here’s my cell number. I can meet you in ten minutes by the baggage claim if you’d like.”

“I hit you with my baggage!”

“Well then… just wait for me after you get off. I mean off the plane, not like get off get off. Oh god kill me.” She turned a darker shade of red and looked away.

“I understand what you meant. I look forward to getting off.” Oliver stated with a wink and headed off the plane.

Oliver wasn’t sure what he’d planned to find when he set off to New York. It was supposed to be a small vacation. What he found instead was a loft on the lower east side with a bubbly blonde that changed his life forever.

 


	2. To First Dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: I have a sort of plan with this story, I don’t however have any written beyond what you’ve already read and what will follow. I’m a mom of four kiddos, 10, 9, 2.5(read as: equals like 5 kids in one…) and an almost 8 month old. It’s also already summer, until August so… I will try to write as often as I can but I’ll make no promises on timely updates. Life is messy, you gotta roll with the punches, I just hope that y’all will be understanding and I will try to get them out as soon as I can. :) Much love - BMG

 

Oliver stood leaning against a pillar outside the gate he’d just exited. He’d already shot a message to his mother, letting her know he’d made it safely to New York. Moira had been worried about his breaking things off with Laurel. She wasn’t happy that he’d run off, she felt like he was running away from his problems. He knew the truth though and he also knew that his parents would understand. He hoped when he returned he’d be able to inform her about everything that had gone on between him and Laurel.

He fielded texts from his sister Thea as well. She was angry, he hadn’t said goodbye or that he was going to New York. So when their mother told her, she was furious. She wanted to go along. Of course that wouldn’t have worked anyways, she was still in school. Not that she cared too much about missing class, she was on an early graduating track and didn’t need to be there everyday. He shook his head as his phone vibrated once more in his pocket. He looked at it and laughed. It was a picture of her pouting. His sister was sweet, if not a bit silly.

“You shouldn’t smile so wide like that, you’re making all the ladies swoon. Personally, I think it’s the dimples. A man with dimples and scruff...hmm... now that should be illegal.”

Oliver’s eyes shot up at her voice. Felicity stood before him with a bright smile and a bag over her shoulder and another on wheels behind her.

“Excuse me? Did you just say swoon?”

“Yes, don’t look now but a group of women at three o’clock haven’t stopped fanning themselves in the last five minutes. I mean, I’m surprised they haven’t fainted yet.”

He looked to his left at the group he assumed was in question. He caught them just as they were turning to look away. Women, always staring at him. Not that he could actually do anything about that. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. His skin felt warm, an unwanted blush he was sure covered his face and neck. “I’m not sure what to say to that other than, I’m sorry?”

Felicity smiled at him, there was a beat of silence before she asked, “Are you sure about this?” She looked a bit uncertain. Which didn’t surprise him, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing either. “I mean if this is too crazy for you I’d understand. I half expected you to run far, far away the moment you were off that plane. Someone like you probably has some meeting or some… thing to run off to.”

He was pretty sure she was implying a someone and went with thing instead, just the way she had paused before finishing. Oliver shook his head and pushed his phone into his back pocket. He was pretty sure that this was going to be one of the craziest things he’d done. Especially since he’d left his college days behind. He was twenty-seven years old and after five years he was finally feeling comfortable working under his father at Queen Consolidated. Aside from things with Laurel, things had been pretty calm. He couldn’t shake the feeling though that as crazy as this seemed, it felt sort of right.

“I wouldn’t have stopped and waited if I didn’t feel like this was something I could handle.” He stated with genuine confidence. Felicity smiled brightly and nodded her head.

“You don’t know anything about me. I mean I could be some axe murderer just waiting to get you alone.”

“An axe murderer who apparently can fly anywhere in the world to get away.” He played along with a chuckle.

“See what I mean! I have a passport, I could literally go and live anywhere. They’d never be able to hunt me down for killing you! I’m pretty sure there is a way to google places without extradition.” She deadpanned.

He just stared at her, this beautiful bombshell that had such a quirky sense of humor. He hadn’t realized how attractive a quality that was until just then. Laurel could be funny, but it was rare. He decided at that moment he’d stop comparing the two. It wasn’t fair to either woman.

“Are you going to kill me Felicity?” He asked letting his face fall into a very serious and grim frown. “Because I mean if you are, things are going to get a lot more complicated. How am I supposed to enjoy a meal with you if I’m a corpse?”

Felicity cracked then. The smile she tossed his way was bordering on megawatt, and then she chuckled. The ponytail that she obviously had pulled her hair into before leaving the plane bobbed back and forth as she shook her head. “No I won’t kill you, at least not with an axe.”

She winked at him then and motioned for him to follow her.

“So, have you been to New York before Oliver?”

He fell in beside her easily. He had to slow his natural gait so that he didn’t leave her in his dust. “I’ve been a few times. Not in recent years, the last time was for a New Year’s Eve party this time it’s just a vacation. Do you live here? Or are you just on a layover?”

“I live here now. So do you have somewhere you’re staying?” She asked as they made their way through the airport. She waved to someone she must have known. “You don’t have much in the way of luggage, how long are you going to be in town?”

“I haven’t figured any of that out just yet,” he answered slowly. Oliver realized why his mother thought he was running. It sounded exactly like that. “I suppose I should fix that.”

“Yes, I imagine that should be the first order of business. I mean obviously its too early, in whatever this is, for you to come to my place. Not that I’m saying that this is anything, just that if it was something it would be too early.”

“I understand Felicity.” He chuckled.

They fell into comfortable silence as they finished their walk through LaGuardia. He found he really liked the way she greeted just random people. After the way he’d left Starling he was a little afraid he would have to search for some happiness. Felicity appeared to have it bottled and kind of left a sprinkling on everyone as she passed.

She produced a pair of sunglasses as they stepped out onto the curb. She motioned for him to step forward quickly as a cab glided to the curb. He opened the door for her. She leaned into the passenger window and gave the man an address. Felicity stood back up and smiled at him.

“We can share a cab to my place. On the way there I’ll help you find a hotel.”

“That’s not really necessary, I can just call you later this evening, once I’ve gotten my shit together.”

“No I insist. Infact if you don’t get in the cab I think I’ll be really offended,” she stated flatly and raised her eyebrow at him. He rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. He didn’t want to offend her.

“Alright. Let me help you with your bags.”

“Thanks, Oliver.”

\------

Two hours later Oliver sat fidgeting nervously at a table in a small restaurant Felicity had picked out. He’d already looked through the menu. He had decided what he would order once she arrived.

If she arrived.

She was twenty minutes late. It didn’t help his nerves.

On their shared cab ride from the airport she had helped him book a room at a hotel not too far from where she lived. She pointed out little things she loved about Manhattan, all the places he should try to see while he was in town. Felicity told him which tourist traps to stay away from and told him he’d be wasting the trip if he didn’t go to at least one broadway show.

He couldn’t peg why he was nervous, other than the fact that he was only recently single. There hadn’t been a really good point during their ride to really dig into each other’s lives. Being apart from Felicity made him second guess what he was doing. He didn’t want this to be a rebound thing. For so long all he’d had was Laurel.

He wasn’t sure how much was too much to air out on a not-date? Maybe she really did only feel like this was a ‘Hey sorry I fell in your lap, let me apologize by sharing a meal with you’ date. What if he came completely clean and it made her run for the hills? Which could possibly be her best response considering they lived a continent apart. _What are you doing here Oliver? Isn’t one failed relationship enough for you for a while?_

This was a mistake. He had so much baggage to work through. How fair would it be to dump that onto some woman who had accidentally been knocked off her feet and into his lap? Not fair at all, no matter how natural it had felt to touch her even briefly.

Oliver had just decided to get up and leave, when the door opened the bell chimed announcing someone’s arrival and he looked up.

There she was.

His nerves settled immediately as her eyes met his. She waved and he stood up, and she made her way towards their table. He took the moment to take in how lovely she looked. She had traded her uniform for a halter dress covered in red flowers that hugged her trim waist and flared out, falling just above her knees. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, it bobbed back and forth as she came to a stop in front of him.He pulled out the chair for her and she smiled up at him, blue eyes sparkling.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I had a call just as I was leaving that I couldn’t ignore. Then the person on the other line just wouldn’t stop talking, rattling on about why she needed me to fill in for her and then she wanted to talk about why the flight would be good for me to take...” Felicity said as she sat down, her voice trailing off. “But then you didn’t need to know all of that now did you? Again, I apologize for being late.”

He helped push her seat in, noticing a small green butterfly tattoo on her bare shoulder blade, before returning to his own. Oliver cut off thoughts of where else she may have little surprises on her body. He shook his head and sat down in his chair. “No not really but that’s okay. I’m just glad you could still make it.”

Oliver felt lighter than he had just moments before her arrival. She was here and in a way that mattered more than her being late. Every doubt he’d had before seemed to fly away. What could it hurt to have one meal with a lovely woman?

“So am I. It appears I am only ever ontime when it’s related to work,” she said just as the waiter stepped up.

They ordered their food and a couple glasses of wine. It didn’t take long for their food to arrive. They fell into easy conversations about their favorite things a wide range of things from sports to movies, music and cars.

Felicity was twenty-seven and an only child. She had grown up in Las Vegas, her single mother worked three jobs to raise her, she still didn’t know about her father’s whereabouts. He found out she had graduated from MIT but decided she wanted to see the world while she was still young enough to enjoy it. He explained how important his family was in Starling City. He was amazed that she didn’t seem at all bothered by his celebrity status back home. How he’d partied quite a bit during college before his dad threatened to cut him off. How he loved working for his dad now. He told her about Thea, and about how much he loved having a kid sister.

Oliver loved the way her eyes would lock on his as she listened intently to everything he said. She had a smile that made his heart skip a beat due to its brightness. It was genuine and something he rarely found from people he just met. He loved the way she bit her lip when she was thinking. He had a hard time finding anything about her that didn’t interest him. He found it even harder to remember that they’d just met.

The waiter came and removed their dishes interrupting their discussion. Felicity studied him over her wine glass for a moment. He was content just to watch her. He watched as something shifted in her eyes. A determination came over her as she returned her wine glass to the table.

“So what are you running from Oliver? This is more than some vacation for you isn’t it?”

Oliver swallowed the sip of wine he’d just took and set his glass back down on the table. The moment had shifted and he felt uneasy for a moment. “I’m not running from anything.”

She sat back leaning into her chair, away from him, and crossed her arms across her chest. His stomach gave a small flip as one perfectly manicured eyebrow lifted and she leveled him with a glare. “Lying is very unbecoming on you, Oliver. Also, you suck at it.”

“I…”

“The truth, or I’ll walk out of here,” she stated flatly, his words dead before they could form.

“You’re very direct.”

“I need to be, I’m beginning to feel like I could like you. Like really like you and that is huge for me. I’ve been burned pretty badly in my past and I made a promise to myself after Co-” she shook her head and dropped her hands to her lap, sitting up straight. “After the last big blow up that I wouldn’t waste my time on men who lie to me. So far you haven’t. So I’d really love to know what’s been eating you alive since I showed up.”

“I don’t mean to lie to you Felicity. I just figured it was too deep for a first meal.” He said softly, his thoughts running amuck in his head. His heart wanted him to spill every bit of his guts to this woman. His body itched with the need to move and not be at this table that had been so happy. He needed to be moving. “Maybe… could we go for a walk?” She looked away from him clearly skeptical so he added, “I promise I’ll explain myself.”

Felicity seemed to think about it for a moment before she nodded her head. She made to pull her wallet out of her purse but he laid his hand over hers. “I’ve already given them my card.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Her hand was warm and delicate under his. He tried to ignore the way the small touch made his heart kick up a little. A light blush had moved up her arm and across her shoulders and onto her cheeks. He tried not to think about why that had happened.

He stood up and moved around the table, taking the back of her chair as she made to stand up, and pulled it out for her. She stumbled slightly, the several glasses of wine they had shared making themselves apparent. It was a good thing they were walking. He held out his elbow to her and she hesitated for only a moment before linking her bare arm with his.

They walked quietly for a few minutes as Felicity guided them toward a small park. It was amazing to him that even though they were in the heart of a busy city that there was still small places of beautiful green. There was a lot of background noise but mostly it felt like a hum, making the city seem so much like a living breathing thing around them.

“So, why are you really in New York?”

“I’m not running,” she nudged him with her elbow and he chuckled. “Not really anyways. I just ended a very long relationship with my on and off again for five years fiance.”

“Thats a long time to be engaged.” There was no judgement in her tone, she just squeezed his bicep softly with her other hand.

“We’d been together since high school. Even that was on and off again. I wasn’t proud of what I did sometimes on our offs, or why we were off to begin with. I let it go on much longer than I should have.” Oliver kicked at a stone as they walked down the sidewalk. He was secretly enjoying the warmth that Felicity’s body radiated next to him as they moved slowly forward.

“Can I ask why you guys were so on and off?”

“I think it basically boiled down to us not communicating, and her wanting to force me into some cookie cutter mold that she thought I should fit into. I just felt like a lot of the time that Laurel was trying to keep me under her thumb. If I messed up, say if I talked to a girl for too long it was like her ego would get hurt. No matter how much I reassured her that I was only interested in her, she just wouldn’t listen. Its exhausting to have to constantly prove your loyalty.”

“But you put up with it for years, what finally pushed you to end it? What makes you think you won’t fall back into old habits when you go back?” Felicity pulled her arm out of his, moving over to a set of swings. She sat in one, dropping her heels to the ground. Oliver stopped off to the side and watched her as she kicked off. He leaned against the support and sighed.

“I finally opened my eyes. Or rather my best friend finally opened my eyes. I’d watched the way the two of them interacted. The way his eyes would light up when he looked at her. I found myself looking at old photographs and it just became so clear. I never looked at her like that. I went so far back, clear to high school and that spark wasn’t there. I couldn’t even remember why we’d thought we should try to be a couple. So I ended it for good.” Oliver shook his head thinking about it.

They’d all been good friends but it was ultimately Laurel who had pushed for more. All the pictures of the three of them together at his parents home showed such a one sided story. Laurel always pining for him in pictures, until after the first time he’d broke off their engagement. Then in pictures her and Tommy were standing closer together, or turned toward each other. He couldn’t help the chuckle. How silly all of them had been. They all should have ended it sooner. So many wasted years.

“I won’t be falling back into old habits this time.”

“How do you know? That kind of history is hard to shake.” She stopped swinging and Oliver came over to stand behind her, grabbing the chains on the swing.

“Because her and Tommy, my best friend, are in love with each other. I know he has been since high school, her probably since the first time our engagement was put on the back burner.” Oliver moved his hands down the chains on the swing to where they met the seat and gave Felicity a solid push forward, loving the way her skirt moved around her lean legs.  “So, I’m here in New York to just let them figure things out without me there.” He finished and returned to his spot against the support for the swing set.

Oliver watched as Felicity’s swing slowly came to a stop again. She was staring at some place in the distance thinking. He wanted to ask her about her bad experience, what had made her decide that the next time she’d want everything on the table. He’d told her about his, though admittedly it wasn’t that bad, just sad for so much time lost. But then it had brought him here, so maybe it was all for a reason.

She looked over at him, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. “So it’s all over between you two?”

“Yep. She sent me a text to let me know that the movers had picked up my things. I guess I’m going to need to look for a place of my own when I get back,” he said with a shrug. He almost regretted telling her everything. Things felt off now, he wanted to return to those moments in the restaurant where they were light and carefree. “Not that I want to pry, but I’d love to know what happened with you, too.”

Her eyes met his finally as her teeth released her lip. “Oh?”

“I mean only if you want to talk about it.” He walked over and sat on the swing beside her, turning sideways to look at her. He hadn’t noticed it before but she wore an industrial piercing in her ear. That with the tattoo repiqued his interest on what else was hidden away.

“My ex, Cooper. I’d met him at MIT, and he was everything to me for a long time. I at one time thought he was the one, and was waiting for him to pop the question. I had loved him so much it hurt to breathe sometimes. I’d never imagined that he was only with me to steal an idea from me. Actually several. He saw me as a free meal ticket,” She shook her head and looked at him. “I am a master at writing code, and viruses. Its just a gift, I must have gotten it from my dad. Anyways, he stole one and used it successfully. It was traced back to me. That year was a rough one. Eventually he was forced to come clean, there weren’t any charges brought against me but it really put a damper on the early graduation I had planned on.”

“Is this the real reason you’re a flight attendant now?”

“Part of it. I wasn’t lying before when I said I wanted to see the world. That’s the truth, Cooper had just ruined my love for what I was doing for a while.”

“I’m really sorry you had to go through all of that.” Oliver offered, looking at her with a soft smile on his lips. He watched as her lips tilted up in an answering smile.

“Yes well, for what it’s worth, it does have its perks.”

“Oh, and what are those?” He asked, watching as she leaned forward, he wasn’t able to stop his own body for leaning closer in answer.

“Well I got to fall into your lap. In the six years I’ve been a flight attendant, that is a first. Thanks for catching me by the way.”

“I’m glad I could be of service.” He said with a wink. “You know Felicity, I hadn’t planned on you. Out of all the things I thought would happen when I came to New York, you didn’t factor in at all.”

“Does it scare you?” She asked softly, eyeing him over her glasses.

“No.” Oliver answered truthfully. Because deep down in his bones something told him that he was meant to meet her. Whether they were meant to be more than friends or not would remain to be seen. For now he felt content just to sit and swing with her in the park.

“Good.”

He heard her say as she turned and kicked off the ground swinging with a breathy laugh. Oliver joined her in a race to see who could swing higher. They must have looked like quite the pair. Two adults playing on a swing set in the heart of New York City. It had been a pretty heavy conversation but one he was happy to have behind them.

\-------

“Thank you for dinner, Oliver, I had a wonderful time.” Felicity said, she stood in front of him at the base of the stairs to her apartment building. Her right hand was holding onto his, their fingers laced together.

He squeezed her hand gently and smiled like an idiot. He battled the side of him that wanted to kiss her, the rational part of his brain telling him that he needed to take it slow. They’d just had the most wonderful evening. Sharing great food and wine, then a heavy conversation in the park. He really wanted to see her again.

“I thoroughly enjoyed myself as well. Would you like to go out with me again tomorrow?” He asked, laying no small part of his hope out there on the table.

“I would if I could, but remember that call. I have a flight that is going to tie me up for all of tomorrow and possibly part of the next day.” Oliver felt deflated at her statement. The beginning of this date had been so long ago. He felt her other hand slide into his and squeezing, dragging his attention back to her. “But since you plan to be here for at least a week right,” he nodded and she smiled, “then I will message you when I’m back. Maybe we could catch a show?”

“I would really love that,” he stated, genuinely happy.

“Okay, then I’ll message you as soon as I am back. Have a great rest of your night Oliver.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against his cheek before darting up the stairs and into the building in front of them. She waved once before disappearing behind the door.

Oliver’s skin burned where her lips had touched. He walked back toward his hotel, his heart thudding in his chest and full of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was slightly harder to write because they wouldn't cooperate in my mind, mostly due to my busy life and lack of sleep. Thank you always for reading, also feel free to check me out on tumblr and twitter. :) -BMG


	3. All Fun and Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: Here we go, third chapter. Enjoy! :) If you have questions or wanna just chat I'm usually available on Twitter or Tumblr. -BMG

Oliver wandered around the observation deck. There were a handful of other people, tourists taking photos of the scenic view. He was only there making sure to fulfill the list he had put together the day before. He took a photo and sent it off to his mother and sister. Then he turned, his back, turning his phone to take a picture of himself with the skyline behind him. He sent it off to Felicity.

She had left him a message the previous morning to 'have fun'. That's when he hatched the plan to see all the places she had labeled as tourist traps. He’d taken a picture at each one and sent them to her. He’d gone to the Statue of Liberty, ran through Central Park, visited Grand Central Station and jogged the Brooklyn Bridge.

His phone rang and her name flashed across the screen. He felt the involuntary smile spread across his face. He slid his thumb across to unlock his phone and placed it at his ear.

“Hello, Felicity!” He started moving toward the exit.

“Oliver, the Empire State Building really?” He could hear the bustle of people in the background, he chuckled at the exasperation in her voice. “I thought I told you to stay away from the tourist traps. Instead you visit them all.”

“I haven’t visited all of them, not yet, but I am working on it. Are you back in New York?”

“I am! Sir could you please move out of the main walkway if you’re going to go through your bag? Thank you sir! I’m home for two days! I’m just making my way out of the airport now. Did you pick out a show yet? Because I really want to see you tonight, like as soon as possible. Is that weird? I just think maybe- Mama your baby is toddling away from you! No that’s okay... really. You’re welcome! I just need to like go home and shower and get rid of the smell of the airplane first.”

"I really want to see you too. Actually I had another idea. I was wondering if you would be offended if we rain-check the show for another night?"

He’d made his way into an elevator and started the journey down out of the Empire State Building. He could hear her hailing a cab. He flinched when she whistled loud enough that he had pull the phone away from his ear.

“I wouldn’t be offended Oliver, as long as we get to do it before- I didn’t mean do it, you know I meant go see a show before you have to return home and or I have to go back to work.” She corrected then he heard her rattle off her address to the driver, having secured a cab. He listened as a deep tired sigh left her, the air moving over the microphone. “Oh thank goodness. Now what did you have in mind?”

Oliver rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. He had thought taking her to Luna Park would be fun, but she sounded so exhausted. He had the thought that maybe she should stay in and rest, but the selfish side of him wanted to see her beautiful face. “Well I thought that it might be fun to go to Luna Park. I figured it's a weekday and it may be early enough that we could beat some crowds.”

He heard a man chuckle behind him in the elevator, and thought he heard something along the lines of ‘silly tourist’. He turned to look at the man and the man just stared him down. The vibe the man gave off was one of ‘I dare you to prove me wrong’, Oliver turned back to face the doors of the elevator.

“Crowds will always be there Oliver, it’s New York! But I have to admit I think that going could be a lot of fun,” she answered, her voice sounding a bit too tired for his liking.

“If you’re too tired I would understand. We could do it tomorrow.”

“No, no. Just give me an hour or so to get home and change. I wasn’t joking, I’m itching to see you. Thanks for all those pictures by the way,” she said, a breathy chuckle followed. Oliver couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s a date then,” he answered triumphantly and a bit too loud for the close quarters of the elevator. A woman in front of him turned and glared. He mouthed a ‘sorry’ in her direction. “Just message me when you’re ready and I’ll walk over to meet you at your place, we’ll take a cab from there.”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll message you soon.”

\-----

Exactly one hour later Oliver was walking toward Felicity’s apartment building. He brought with him a coffee and a croissant. He figured coffee could be a pick me up and what sane person didn’t like a warm fresh out of the oven croissant?

He walked up the main stairs to the building and rang the buzzer for apartment number 6B. Looking at the list of names he realized hers was on the top floor, there were two apartments per floor of the six floor walk up. _No wonder she has killer legs. I hope she wears a skirt or dress like the other night._

Oliver shook the thoughts away, he didn’t need to have his head in the gutter for this date. He’d had a long conversation with his mother about what had gone wrong with Laurel. She’d offered a lot of insight to it that he’d never thought about. On his jog back and forth across the Brooklyn Bridge the day before he had examined his and Laurel’s relationship even more. One of the things he kept coming back to was not listening to his feelings and allowing time to flesh them out. He needed to take this slow. Feel it out, make sure he didn’t rush this without taking the proper steps.

The door opening suddenly drew him back to the present, and there Felicity stood. The second time since they met that her appearance had made his mind settle, even as his heart began to race. She stood there in a pair of jean shorts and a fluttery pink tank top, her blonde hair fell down around her shoulders in golden curls, and there was a pair of sunglasses perched on her head.

“Hi,” she said, her voice airy and light. The flush to her skin made him think that she may have ran down those six flight of stairs.

“Hi,” he answered back, his cheeks hurting from the way he was smiling. But it couldn’t be helped. Felicity was sunshine come to Earth and just her proximity made him feel warm and happy. Felicity’s returning smile was wonderful, her blue eyes shining.

They shared the top step as the door closed behind her. Their bodies just inches apart, her perfume once again filling his nose. She smelled of vanilla and oranges. Being this close he realized just how short she was, barely coming to his shoulders. She had worn heels before but now she was in some sort of sandal, her toes painted a soft pink matched her tank top.

“Hi,” she said again with a chuckle. His eyes snapped back up to meet hers, blushing having been caught staring.

“I’m sorry,” he answered taking a step back and out of her space. He remembered the coffee and croissant and held them out to her. “Here, I got these for you, thought you could maybe use a pick me up?” She took the items from him. “Are you ready to go?”

“Oh thank you is this…,” she sniffed the hole in the lid and closed her eyes. “Oh my god it’s coffee, bless you!” A quick peak into the bag and she groaned, the sound something Oliver was sure he wouldn’t ever forget, but would love to hear again under different circumstances. “Man, you just know your way to a woman’s heart huh, coffee and a warm pastry! Oh and yes I am so ready to go!”

Felicity moved the bag and coffee together into the same hand, then reached for the hand he offered to her and laced her fingers with his. He tried really hard to ignore the way his heart raced once again as their skin touched. He led her down the stairs and toward the street where he raised his other hand to hail a taxi.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to an amusement park, I’m kind of excited to go. I hadn’t expected you to be ready to go so soon. It really would have been fine if you’d wanted to rest today,” Oliver said as one taxi sailed past them before coming to a stop. He opened the door for Felicity and she slid in telling the driver where they were going.

“I honestly couldn’t wait to see you,” she stated as she settled and took a sip from her coffee. A small soft moan slipped past her lips as he settled next to her. “Mmmm. I don’t really care where we are going as long as I get to go with you.” He grinned at her from his side of the taxi, as she stopped to take a bigger gulp of her coffee.

“Luna Park is a lot of fun, going to Coney Island is really something one should never miss on a visit to New York City, if the weather is right. The last time I went was with Caitlin, she’s one of my friends and coworkers. She threw up after we rode the Thunderbolt. She won’t go with me anymore,” Felicity explained, as she turned in the seat to look at him. She pulled the croissant out of the bag and took a large bite, chewed. Oliver watched her jaw work until she swallowed. “I was hungry, thanks for this!”

“You’re welcome and here’s hoping there isn’t any throwing up,” Oliver answered with a shake of his head, silence fell over them.

Being in the taxi together, in such a small space wasn’t helping his resolve from earlier. Her perfume was filling the air around them, just like before on the stairs, it was so intoxicating. He couldn’t help but just stare at her. She was so gorgeous, so far everything about her was perfect. He wondered for what had to be the hundredth time why no one else had snapped her up.

She finished the pastry, then downed the rest of her coffee. She pushed the cup into the bag and sat it on the seat between them.

“God you are so beautiful!” He said slowly and confidently, unable to contain the thought anymore.

“Oh… Uh.. Um… Thank you Oliver, you’re uh... too sweet,” She smiled softly and reached for his hand. “You know you don’t look too bad yourself.” She sighed, eyes moving over him. “It just isn’t fair.”

Oliver tried to think about what she could have meant by that. He looked down at his slightly wrinkled gray henley, dark wash jeans and blue chucks. It was as far from a business suit, which was his normal attire. He felt like he was just ordinary today. “What’s not fair?”

“Oh god, I didn’t mean to say that part out loud! I just meant it isn’t fair that you should always look so good. Like every time, even in rumpled clothes. Not to say that your clothes are bad or rumpled exactly just they look like-... Ugh, I’m so shutting up.” Felicity’s face went red as she looked anywhere but at him.

He squeezed her hand and tried not to laugh. He didn’t want to make her feel anymore embarrassed. Oliver loved hearing what was on her mind, especially if her filter didn’t catch all of it.

“It’s okay,” he said softly.

Her blue eyes finally met his again and they shared a smile together. His eyes dropped to her lips when a movement caught his attention, she had pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. He found himself wanting to reach up and remove the tender flesh. He realized all too late that his free hand had actually moved without any conscious thought. His thumb brushed over her glossy lip, slowly pulling it from the grip her teeth had. Felicity’s breath ghosted over his hand and his own breath quickened in response.

“Oliver,” she breathed, he hadn’t realized how close their bodies had come together until the taxi hit a bump. Felicity was thrown half into his lap, for the second time since they’d met. The driver shouting his apologies, through the divider, successfully broke through the tension that had crackled in the air. They both started laughing.

“Good grief, how many times can I end up deposited in your lap!” She said through a giggle as Oliver helped her straighten back up. He put a safe distance between them and chuckled.

“Someone has it out for you I think,” he offered. Oliver looked out the window to gauge where they were, and to cool off.

“Maybe, though, falling into your lap isn’t so bad.”

He gave a short laugh and looked at her. He had almost kissed her, and he thought that maybe she would have let him. He rubbed his thumb and index finger together, some of her lip gloss was present and he rubbed at it. He wondered if she used some kind of flavored gloss or if it was like some of the stuff Laurel used. That was just waxy and disgusting. He shook the thought away and focused on something else, like when he could plan to see her again after today.

“So how long before you have to work again?” He asked.

“Oh, two days,” she answered sounding disappointed. “Unfortunately, I’ll be on for a while after that too. I am the definition of a workaholic. You could ask my mother and she’d fully back  that statement up. So I won’t be here for your last days, if you stay the full week like you’d intended.”

“Two days is plenty for you to get sick and tired of me I’m sure. You can help me tick off all those tourist traps you seemed to love so much.”

“Ugh, for real Oliver, there are so many other more fun and interesting places to see than the traps!” She said, she seemed to pour every bit of her exasperation into the statement. All he could do was smile at her. She huffed and shoved at his shoulder, it only made his grin grow deeper, his cheeks hurting with the effort of holding the position.

“Well I guess you’ll just have to share the better things with me then.”

“Be prepared to work your ass off Oliver!”

The shocked expression on her face at her current word vomit had him laughing so hard his stomach hurt. She’d slapped his thigh and he grabbed her hand, their fingers easily and naturally intertwining. It wasn’t long before they’d reached Coney Island and the real fun began.

\---

“Oh goodness, my feet and my head are so sore. I’m exhausted, this is your fault Oliver!” Felicity leaned heavily against him as they walked the boardwalk. They were calling it a night at last. He carried a rather large overstuffed panda under his free arm, the other wrapped tightly around Felicity’s waist. He loved the way her body just melted into his.

They’d rode every ride, got whiplash on the Sling Shot, lost at least a hundred dollars on games; with only the panda to show for it. They had eaten so much food he felt like he was going to burst. The run the next morning would be worth it.

They had just watched the most wonderful sunset and he was pretty sure he’d never had a better day in his life. He couldn’t believe he’d met someone who seemed to love this stuff as much as him. Felicity was turning out to be everything he didn’t know he needed.

“You know, maybe you should have worn more than just those silly little sandals. You did know where we were going,” he answered, letting his hand move up from her waist to poke the bottom of her rib cage. He got the desired effect when she pushed harder against him, and her fingers tightened where they were on his hip.

“Oh hush you, before I make you carry me. All that muscle you have hidden under those silly clothes has to be for something.” She had taken advantage at every turn to bump into him, touch or hold him close all day. He’d done the same with her, all her soft curves too inviting not too.

“You want me to carry you? I could. But then what would I do with this,” he asked holding out the panda and giving it a shake. “You said I had to carry it because I won it. Even though I won it for you.”

“Ridiculously over priced panda,” she mumbled beside him. He laughed and she swatted his chest. “No need to carry me, we’re already close enough to hail a cab.”

\---

The ride back to her apartment was quiet. He noticed her yawning and a small amount of guilt started to weigh on him. He probably should have insisted that she take the day to rest.

“Whatever you’re thinking about you can stop. It’s clogging up the air in here,” Felicity’s voice was soft though teasing. “Stop overthinking.”

He sighed deeply and hugged her closer to his body. The guilt evaporating. “I had a wonderful day.”

“Thats because I’m a such wonderful and gifted tour guide.”

“Totally, what would I have done without you?”

“I really don’t know. I’m glad you had me.”

“So am I.”

The cab pulled to a stop in front of Felicity’s building. Oliver slipped him money through the window, then opened the door and climbed out. He stretched before reaching a hand back inside the open door and Felicity took it. All day they had held hands off and on, he still couldn’t get over just how right it felt to hold hers in his. Once she was on the sidewalk, he closed the door. Felicity held his hand and tugged him behind her, the panda tucked under her other arm.

She stepped up onto the first step then turned to face him, the step breaching some of their height difference. Her face was tilted down, looking at their hands. She gave his fingers a squeeze. “Thank you for today, and for the pictures you sent while I was working yesterday. I wish I could explain to you how happy they made me.”

“You’re welcome. They were kind of spur of the moment, I was sending them to my mom and sister too, and figured you could get a good laugh at my expense too,” he said as he allowed himself to step a little closer. There was just a pull there that he couldn’t and didn’t want to fight.

“You’re so warm,” she breathed, her voice raspy and low, sleepy and laced with something else he wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on.

He wasn’t even sure if she had meant to say it. The evening air around them had started to chill as night fell. Her face tilted up and he noticed her lip was caught again in her teeth. This time he was very conscious of his free hand lifting to free her lip. Her eyes fluttered closed as his thumb rubbed slowly over the skin, he let his hand move to cup her jaw. His feet stopped at the stair as he came closer to her, her head tilted ever so slightly.

“Can I kiss you Felicity?” Oliver breathed just inches from her lips. He wanted desperately to close the gap.

Felicity didn’t verbally answer, she just closed the distance with a soft gasp against his lips. His eyes fell closed and he gave himself over to the kiss, pressing his lips harder against hers. He tugged his hand from hers to loop around her back, pulling her body up against his. Her lips parted, taking it for the invitation it was, his tongue slipped between them to find hers. Her lips tasted of some kind of fruit and cotton candy from their last snack. He groaned into her mouth when her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck.

Oliver felt as if his heart would fly out of his chest. His body responded almost violently when her teeth nipped his bottom lip, then sucked it into her mouth. His own fingers digging deep into her hair and the one around her waist fisted the thin material of her top. “Oh god,” he groaned against her lips before delving deeper into the kiss.

“Miss Smoak!”

Felicity startled, jumped back, her teeth grazing his lip painfully as she turned away. Oliver’s eyes snapped to look where she had turned her head. “Mrs. Templer, I’m so…”

An older woman, with her small dog, stood at the top of the stairs. Her eyes wide and her hand clutched in a fist over her heart. She probably thought he was mauling her young neighbor. Oliver regretfully untangled himself from Felicity’s shirt and hair. His body painfully aware of the distance, but he stomped down the need coursing through him. 

Felicity turned back to him, her lips swollen, hair disheveled and he knew if he didn’t look away he would start kissing her again. So he looked over Felicity’s shoulder and addressed the older woman, “Good evening ma'am, just returning Miss Smoak to her home.”

Felicity slapped his bicep and leaned to brush a kiss to his cheek like she’d done the first night. Her lips then brushed against his ear as she whispered, “Good night, Oliver. Sweet dreams!”

Sweet dreams indeed, the nymph.

She turned and started up the stairs. “Mrs. Templer, I’m so sorry about that, I hope I didn’t give you too much of a fright. I’ll just head in now. Oliver, I’ll call you!”

Oliver watched her disappear into the building with the panda in tow. Mrs. Templer made her way down the stairs, her dog trotting happily in front of her. “So sorry ma'am.” He said as she made to pass him.

“Don’t be sorry dear, my John used to kiss me like that. Oh to be so young again and blissfully in love, Miss Felicity has needed that for a long time, she’s always alone. Too pretty for that non-sense. Don’t you be sorry at all dear, my old heart is just fine, just caught me off guard is all,” she said as she patted his arm. “You have a nice night dear.”

Oliver stood and stared after the woman. Her words playing over and over again in his head. The needy haze from just moments before still clouding his mind. He shook his head and started his walk to his hotel. His heart still beating wildly in his chest. He decided that that was just the effect Felicity Smoak had on him, and he loved the feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a bit sappy/silly. But I hope you liked it anyways!


	4. 3am Knows All My Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating change as we proceed.

Oliver stared up at the ceiling above him and groaned, he rubbed his hands across his face. It was early still, only about three am. He hadn’t slept well. His thoughts would not leave him alone and let him sleep.  A certain blonde kept running through every moment he closed his eyes.

It bothered him that she hadn't called him. Felicity hadn’t even sent him a text. Of course he hadn't reached out to her either, but she had said she would call him. The silence allowed doubt to creep in. It was eating away at him and making his stomach and head hurt with the weight of it.

What if he read too much into that kiss? He had only intended it to be a light kiss, a brush of their lips as a first kiss. That's why he asked permission. He didn't want to rush any part of this. His mother’s words from earlier still resonating in his mind. But then she'd taken the initiative, closing the distance between them and all too suddenly the kiss had gotten away from him.

Oliver had been too weak to stop it.

Maybe that's why she hadn't messaged or called. Maybe she thought it was too much too. He also knew that it had to be mortifying being interrupted by her elderly neighbor. That had been like having a cold bucket of water thrown on them. Not that it lasted, he’d had to take an extra cold shower when he’d gotten back to the hotel.

That had to be it. He'd pushed too far in that kiss. Too much, too fast. He couldn't remember ever worrying about end of date kisses before. Of course his dates prior to Laurel mostly ended up in one time hookups and then there was Laurel. Just look how wonderful that had gone.

This dating thing was foreign territory.

He groaned pushing the thoughts from his head. Oliver just needed to get out. Do something to distract himself. Maybe a run would do him some good, in the least it should tire him out. He forced his tired body out of the bed and onto his feet. He stretched then dragged his feet toward the bathroom.

He relieved himself, then focused on getting ready to run. He pulled his basketball shorts up into place on his hips before moving back toward the bed. He sat down and pulled his shoes on before he grabbed his, irritatingly silent, phone from the nightstand beside the bed. He found his armband and earbuds in his hoodie, putting them on before pulling a t-shirt, off the chair near the bed, over his head. He chose his favorite band, the music blasting instantly into his skull, loud enough to drive away all thoughts. _Perfect!_ The last thing he grabbed was his wallet as he headed out the door.

An hour and eight miles later exhausted and sweating in the heat of the early morning he decided to take a break. All through his run all he could think about was the kiss. It was like it was on replay, how her lips felt against his, and the way her fingers tugged at the short hair at the base of his skull. He wasn’t sorry for the kiss. He wouldn’t apologize for it, mainly because Felicity had kissed him back just as thoroughly. But he would try harder. Be more.

He pulled his earbuds out of his ears and wandered into an all hours coffee shop he had grown fond of. He knew he had to be quite the sight but didn’t plan on staying long. He’d get a coffee and head back to his room to plan how he wanted to handle the day. He had just paid for his coffee when he felt his spine tingle. He turned slowly, smiling as he saw a very sweaty blonde come through the door.

“Oliver! What are you doing here!?” Felicity asked, shock evident in her voice. Her ponytail still swayed behind her head, wisps of short golden hair spilling free around her head. He tried to tone back the smile on his face.

“I went for a run and decided to stop and grab coffee.” _'Since I won't be getting any sleep.'_ He finished in his mind.

“Oh.” She crossed her arm over her chest, eyes not meeting his. She had a small blush moving across her skin. Then it clicked that she was very under dressed.

“So…,” He stalled looking her over. His eyes dropping to the bright purple and green Nikes on her feet, up to her tie dyed crop leggings and a purple sports bra. So much bare skin. He followed her arm as it moved to wrap up her earbuds. A green armband held what looked like an ipod on her bicep, tucked the buds into the band then huffed out an annoyed breath.  His eyes snapped up to hers but she wasn't looking at him but at her armband in disgust. “What were you doing?”

“Um… just you know… running… at three in the morning… when most normal people are sleeping...” She said slowly, trailing off before looking at him. Her teeth instantly gnawed at her bottom lip. “I couldn’t sleep.” She supplied after a breath.

“Looks like we have that in common, neither could I. You want a coffee?” He motioned her toward the counter.

“I should go. I mean coffee isn’t going to help me sleep, right,” she answered sounding uncertain.

“Or you could stay,” he said as he watched her fingers play with the second band around her wrist. “Please stay. I’ll buy.”

Felicity sighed, his stomach tightened watching her abs move as she released the breath. _Shit was that a belly button piercing. Oh fuck me._ “Oh okay fine, since you insisted and because I just realized I forgot my wallet.”

His eyes met hers and she smiled. "Whoops."

She just shrugged. "It happens."

"A lot," the barista said from behind the counter, a dark haired gangly kid who probably was just barely old enough to be working at this hour. Already setting a black ice coffee on the counter.

"Shut it, Allen! I always come back!"

“You’re welcome and I love you too!” He shot back at her and she snorted. Oliver paid, eyeing the kid behind the counter, then handed the coffee to Felicity.

Felicity led the way to a booth in one of the corners. Oliver tried not to look at the amount of skin that wasn’t covered. Or take notice of the way the crop leggings made her ass look bite worthy. _Hm maybe I’m turning into an ass man._ She slid into the booth then patted the seat next to her. He rubbed the back of his neck, contemplating whether he'd be able to control himself sitting next to her in her current state of dress. He really didn’t like his odds.

"I won't bite," she said with a laugh. Nope definitely needed to sit anywhere but in that booth with her.

“Um… I’ll sit over here for now.” He said sliding into the booth across from her. He didn’t let her frown get to him. Distance was best, for this moment at least.

“So you couldn’t sleep?” She asked taking a sip from her coffee.

“No, not really,” he answered watching the way her throat moved as she swallowed. He couldn’t stop staring at the little things she did. He knew what his good friend Roy would say to him, _‘Man you are so gone on this girl.’_ Oliver realized he was right and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle that information.

“Is something wrong back home?” concern filling her voice as she stared back at him intently.

“No nothing like that, it was actually you. You’re the reason I couldn’t sleep.”

“What?”

“You said you would call and then you didn’t. Ugh god I’m sounding like some needy sap.”

“No, no you aren’t!” Felicity reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “Honestly, you’re the reason I didn’t stay asleep as well.” She laughed and dragged her fingers over his knuckles. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call. I was so mortified by Silvia finding us kissing that I went up to my apartment and just sat on my couch staring at my blank tv. I think that the day had finally caught up with me and I passed out. Until a dream woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep so I decided on a run.”

“Oh, why hadn't I thought of that. You had to be exhausted from all the activity,” Oliver said and watched as a new blush ran across Felicity’s cheeks, down her neck and across the tops of her breasts, he snapped his eyes back up to hers, his own cheeks flaming. What had he said? Something about activity. Now that sounded wrong. "I mean from work and the trip to the park and not the-"

“That kiss was... um…” her voice trailed off and he rotated his hand palm up to lace his fingers with hers. She’d just given him the opening he needed to discuss exactly what had him up all night.

“Felicity this is all very fast. It was just supposed to be a chaste end of the first wonderful date kiss. I didn’t-”

“Oh god, Oliver are you apologizing?” She started to pull her hand out of his grasp and he tightened it, trapping her fingers in his. “Because if you’re going to apologize I don’t think-”

“No! Shit! That's not... I’m not apologizing I swear to you. That kiss was amazing. One of the best I’ve had in a while actually. It just proved to me that I need to watch myself with this,” he gestured with his free hand between them. “I want to do this the right way. I need you to know that. I’ve done so many things wrong in years past that I need, want to do this right. You can’t be a rebound for me, no one deserves that,” he said firmly, giving her fingers one more gentle tug as he watched her reaction to his words.

“Do you think thats what this could be for you? A rebound?” she asked softly, her deep blue eyes meeting his. He released a small relieved sigh that she’d stopped trying to take her hand out of his.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to believe that is what’s happening. I want to be sure that I’m making the right decisions here. I really really like you. I can’t stop thinking about you so obviously I can’t ignore the draw to you.”

“Oh Oliver,” she sighed, nibbling her bottom lip.

“Listen, don’t over think this. I want these next two days for us to be about spending time getting to really know each other.”

“Oliver, we all have our flaws. If you need this to just be a friendship thing then we can play that route,” she flattened her palm against his, then slowly started to draw her hand away. He let it go, feeling in his gut that she wasn’t pulling away in a bad way. “But like I said at that first date, I feel like I can more than just like you. To be totally transparent that kiss was more than just friends territory.”

Oliver couldn’t help but smile. She was the cutest thing ever. “I know. I promise to pull back a little bit next time.”

Felicity laughed and shook her head. “For such a heavy situation you know how to draw out the light. You’re very sweet Oliver, we can see how things go. I make no promises to pull back whatsoever though. I’m not getting any younger and until I met you I don’t think I fully knew what I was looking for.”

“Fair enough.” He answered finishing his coffee.

One of the things he’d found he liked a lot about Felicity was her honesty. He felt like he knew where she stood on things. She wasn’t going to push him but she wasn’t going to back down either. He felt it was a great quality. He idly wondered what his parents and Thea would think about her.

She finished her coffee a moment later, the straw slurping the bottom of the cup. The sound making him grin. The sound stopped then as she started to stand up.

“What do we want to do today?” He asked standing as she did. She fiddled with her empty cup, biting the straw, the ice shifting. He felt his mind lock on the movement of her mouth. He shivered then purposely moved his eyes toward her forehead.

“How about lunch at my apartment, then there is a three o’clock showing of Finding Neverland? I haven’t been able to catch that one yet,” she answered finding his eyes, her voice sounding soft and hopeful.

Oliver felt his chest tighten at the first part, lunch in her apartment, he both loved the idea and it made him a little bit wary. But he was nodding anyways, fully ready to spend the day with her, in whatever manner he could. Well maybe after a shower. He’d worry about being in her apartment later. “Sounds like a good idea to me. I think I could live through a musical. It is a musical right?”

“Oh yes Oliver, it’s a musical, one of the best. Or so I’ve been told.”

“We will just have to verify what your sources have said then. How does that saying go? ‘Trust but verify’?”

Felicity laughed and bumped her hip into his as they stepped away from the table. “Yes, exactly!”

They slowly made their way through the gathering crowd and out onto the street. Felicity and the barista, Barry Allen, exchanged parting greetings with a chuckle and a wave. Oliver shot the boy a pointed look, which the kid just irritatingly shrugged off, as he held the door open for Felicity.

Once on the street they turned toward each other. Felicity was fiddling with her ipod and earbuds, placing one in her ear. The energy that seemed to always be there between them still crackling on the edges. He wasn’t sure how to respond to it.

“What time should I be over?” He looked at his watch, it was just four thirty in the morning.

“How about-” She yawned as she looked at her own watch. “Let’s say noon, it’ll give us time to eat and then catch a cab. I’m going to need a nap and shower beforehand.”

“It’s a date then. Would you like an escort back?” He asked not ready to part ways.

“Sure, do you mind if we jog?”

“Not at all.”

Oliver watched her as she settled her ipod back into her arm band and winked at him, then took off ahead of him. He watched her ponytail swing wildly side to side and pretended he didn’t stare at her backside. He shoved an ear bud into his own ear, pressing play on his music then jogged to catch up with her.

She turned her head and laughed, calling over her shoulder, “Slowpoke!”

“Cheater!” He said when he’d quickly closed the gap between them and fell into a nice gentle job beside her.

They parted ways at her door a short time later with a small kiss to her cheek this time, and a gentle squeeze of her hand in his. He waited until she’d gone through the door and let a sigh leave his chest.

\------------------

Oliver stood on the top step, a bottle of wine in one hand, as he rang the bell for Felicity’s apartment. He tried to ignore the ball of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. He was a grown ass man and could handle hanging out with a beautiful woman in the privacy of her home. He really could.

Of course it may have been a lot easier if he hadn’t gotten to see quite so much of her skin earlier. Every inch was a vivid picture in his mind. He wasn’t able to shut off his brain or his body enough to rest when he’d gotten back to his hotel room. He’d resorted to going to the hotel’s gym and working out until he had to get ready to go. That still hadn't done much and it couldn't help his imagination.

“Hi Oliver,” Felicity's sudden appearance jerked him out of his thoughts, with a quick kiss to his lips, she grabbed his free hand. “Come on up.”

He licked his lip and shoved a groan, at the taste off her lips, back down inside where it belonged, and followed her up the stairs. She was wearing a deep dark blue dress with little white polka dots all over it. The back open to just below her shoulder blades, the little green butterfly peaking out again at the edge of the fabric. The skirt fluttered just above her knees as she slowly walked up the stairs on her bare feet. He looked away when he realized she was talking to him, he missed the first part of whatever she was saying, too preoccupied by her legs.

“-Templer lives on the third floor, she’s been here since forever. Her husband passed away about four years ago. She’s the sweetest, but then you met her um… last night.” She cleared her throat as they rounded the next set of stairs and came to the next landing.

“Jamie and Luann live on the fourth floor. They are a bit eccentric for my taste, but Jamie makes a killer lemon soup. I'm gonna have to see when she's making it again.” He marveled at how she could take the stairs so easily and still keep up a description of those who lived in her building. She didn’t even seem out of breath. They rounded another set and onto yet another landing. All the working out he'd done that day was catching up to him.

“The Sweeney’s own the whole fifth floor. They only owned one at first but her husband insisted on buying out my friend Caitlin last year.  Now they have the whole floor, gutted it and remodeled it. They have three children. Not that you’d know they are even there half the time. They run a very tight ship. All 'please and thank yous' and 'how do ya do Felicity'. Very nice group of kids.”

They stopped, at last, on the top landing. A door in front of them said ‘Roof Access’ and then there were two other doors. The door to the right, where Felicity had turned to, was a deep green with several frosted windows cut out on it. The one to the left had a simple golden letter ‘A’ below the peep hole, and a row of four locks. “That’s John.” She offered as she opened the green door.

“Just John?” Oliver asked as he followed her through the door and shut it behind him with his foot. He held out the bottle of wine toward her and he watched as she read the label. She smiled and nodded, taking it from him. He wasn’t sure if it was for the wine or the question. “Every other neighbor you had some description for. Why is he just ‘John’?” His curiosity getting the better of him.

“Oh well, he’s kind of a hermit. All I really know about him is that he’s maybe 35, never leaves, except to get the mail, even then he’s like a huge gigantic, bigger than even you, dark ninja. I’ve only run into him twice doing that run, I think he may be ex-military. His groceries are delivered, his laundry is sent out... Hmm, I guess I know more than just his age.” She had disappeared to the right through a doorway in her apartment with the wine, raising her voice just a little while Oliver stood just inside her space.

Everything was so different than what he had expected. His eyes wandered over what must have been her main living area. Picture frames littered many of the flat surfaces, her walls held many pieces of broad bright color patterns. A large canvas picture of a bright orange and cream striped cat on one wall, as well as a panoramic view of Las Vegas at night. None of the furniture matched, and yet everything seemed to fit together.

It was nothing like the Queen mansion that was all old and orderly, and definitely a million miles away from the sleekness Laurel had adopted in their shared condo. This was cozy and homey, Oliver felt some of his anxiety lessen. Until through a doorway in front of him he saw her bed. His brain stalled.

“Oliver? Where’d-” She asked pulling his eyes toward her and away from her bed. She was coming back from wherever she had gone, finding him precisely where she’d left him. “Oh, there you are, I thought you would follow me.”

"Hmm?" He hummed still fuzzy brained, but found himself blindly smiling in return to hers. His brain finally catching up to what she had said. “I wasn’t sure if I should take my shoes off or-"

“Oh if you want to, if it would make you more comfortable. I’m not too big a stickler for that, I had hardwood put in throughout so I wouldn’t have to maintain carpet. But then you didn’t ask that did you.” She bit her lip.

Oliver’s fingers itched to touch her. He slipped his shoes off instead and pushed them to the side, out of the way of the door where he noticed her running shoes sat. He felt her eyes on him so returned his gaze to her. She fidgeted nervously where she stood, bottom lip caught between her teeth.

“I’m nervous too,” he stated quietly feeling that she was just as nervous as him.

Felicity snorted, rolling her eyes and released her lip. “Thanks, I couldn’t tell if you noticed. Anyways, I’m just finishing the sandwiches. If you want you can either sit down or join me in the kitchen?” She had gestured toward her couch but Oliver didn’t want to sit down. Instead he followed her into the kitchen.  

“Maybe I can help?” He offered then almost regretted it, realizing that maybe the two of them in the kitchen and moving around wouldn't help him at all. The space wasn’t extremely small, but small enough they’d have to share their personal spaces. Already he could smell her perfume and as subtle as it was it didn’t do anything to calm his nerves. Have some control man!

“Sure, you can open the wine." She said over her shoulder as she washed her hands and pointed to the drawer below the bottle of wine. Two glasses sat on the counter beside the bottle.

He pulled the drawer open and grabbed the corkscrew. He opened the bottle while watching her place two sandwiches into a press. He poured wine into both glasses and held one out to her which she took, her fingers brushed against his. It amazed him how the simplest of her touches made his heart race. He leaned back against the counter and took a sip from his glass.

“So, why do you live in New York? I saw the picture of Las Vegas, do you miss it?” He asked watching as she pulled a couple plates from a cupboard, setting them on the small two person table.

“Well, my mother would rather I live in Vegas, but New York works best for some of my international flights. Plus, the city is like this living organism, it literally breathes. At first I thought I would hate the congestion and constant noise but it has really grown on me over the years. This feels like home now.” She pulled the sandwiches off the press and moved them to the plates. She motioned for him to sit down so he did. “I get to visit my mother often enough to remind me why I didn’t love Las Vegas. It doesn’t change the fact that it was where I grew up and was my home.”

Felicity moved to a drawer and pulled out knives and napkins. He watched her move so easily around the small space. Anything to keep his mind occupied and away from things it shouldn't be thinking about. She placed them on the table before sitting across from him.

Oliver took the knife and cut his in half, lifting one half to take a bite. He groaned over the taste, swallowing. “Wow this is amazing!”

“Thanks,” Felicity blushed a little, shifting in her seat. “It’s just ham, gouda and pear with some spicy mustard on rye. Nothing fancy.”

“It’s better than the tuna sandwiches the hotel offers.” He took another bite, watching Felicity tuck into her sandwich.

“So, have you lived anywhere but Starling?” She asked before sipping her wine in between bites of sandwich.

Oliver felt something brush his pant leg under the table. He nearly choked on his current bite of food, reaching for his glass of wine and using a gulp to wash it down. He cleared his throat before answering, “No, I’ve visited other places and visited a few schools but never actually lived anywhere but there. I know it’s pretty boring.”

“Not boring at all. It means you have roots, roots are a really good thing.”

“They are more like my family’s roots, not something of my own. At least it feels that way. I guess a part of me always thought by now I’d have something of my own, that I could call my own. I kind of threw that away recently.” He said staring at his near empty glass of wine. A tapping sound had him looking away back toward Felicity. She tapped her fingers on the table, her eyes staring off into some distant thought.

Oliver wondered what she was thinking about when again something rubbed against his leg under the table. His body reacted without his permission, his mind wandering to the image of her bare foot sliding against his calf. He sat straighter in his chair. “I don’t want to sound rude but that’s very distracting!”

“Hmm? What…” Felicity’s eyes snapped to his own, honest confusion evident in her blue eyes. “What’s distracting?”

“You rubbing my leg under the table,’ he swallowed nervously. The earlier thought conjuring up an even better image of her colored toenails a magnificent contrast to their skin rubbing together. _Get it together man!_

“Oh... but I didn’t Oliver, I-” She stopped, recognition covering her features as she smiled then dipped her head to look under the table. She all but disappeared before pulling up a rather large familiar cat, it was the one from the picture. “Pixi, I’d like you to meet Oliver. Although, I think he’s already greeted you.” She said as she scratched behind the cats head.

“Pixi?” Oliver ignored the irrational disappointment that filled his chest, and smiled at Felicity instead.

“Pixel actually but I call him Pixi for short. He’s a big ball of fur and leaves it everywhere but he’s my ball of fur. He usually hides from unusual people. Not that you are unusual, just not normal. I mean you aren’t a normal visitor. Ugh, anyways, he must like you.” She put him down and Oliver spied under the table as the cat bumped his leg then rubbed his body against his calf. Not nearly the distraction now that he knew what it was.

“Pixel is kind of a strange name for a cat.” Oliver stated flatly, not that he’d had many run ins with cats but to him it sounded odd.

“Yeah well he’s a cat, I doubt he cares what I call him as long as he has food, and I’m a nerd.” He watched as she rubbed the cat’s flank before returning her hand to the table. They talked for several minutes about how Pixel had come to be in her life two years ago. He had been a stray that she picked up off the front stoop. The two women who lived in the building, the one he remembered Felicity said made great lemon soup took care of Pixel for her when she had to be away longer than just a day or two. They talked about Oliver’s seventeen year old dog Tanner and how Laurel had forbid him from having the dog in their condo. So Tanner lived at the mansion with his parents. She’d made him smile when she told him that Laurel was ridiculous, even though it shouldn’t have.

“So Oliver, do you think you would ever leave Starling? Sow your own oats so to speak?” She asked, bringing them back to their previous conversation, only turning the tables toward him.

Oliver had actually given this some thought earlier when he was trying to wear himself out. As much as he loved working for his dad, and being near his family he didn’t feel the same need to stay there anymore. He had a good idea who was the cause of that, but had no idea how he wanted or should to proceed. He’d never moved across country before. He hadn't had another job either. He didn't know the first thing about looking either. Maybe he'd have to have a good talk with his dad when he got back.

“I think if properly motivated I would,” he answered honestly, standing to get the wine bottle from the counter. He refilled Felicity’s glass since she held it out, and poured some into his own glass. He returned to his seat and turned back into his sandwich. “Right now the only thing keeping me invested there is my family and my place in the business.”

“Hmm, so what is it you do for your dad? Is it something you could find somewhere else? Or is it like an obligation kind of thing?”

“I don’t feel obligated to work for my dad anymore. I did at first, when I was in college. I felt like I was only doing it because he wanted me to, and I resented him for it and a lot of that feeling drove how I screwed around at school.” He leaned back in his chair and watched Felicity eat. “I currently help bring in new projects. I oversee the research stages and then present my dad with the ones he may want to consider. It’s not anything all that special, someone else could do it.”

“Sounds kind of interesting. I imagine you get to see a lot of very creative ideas come across your desk. I sometimes think about going back into computers. But then I think about sitting at a desk again and I’m not sure I’m really ready for that yet.” She smiled, finishing off the last bite of her sandwich. He’d never seen Laurel finish a meal in all the years he’d known her. In just a couple days he’d seen Felicity finish several. He thought it odd that he liked that about her.

“Do you think you’ll ever leave New York?” He asked finishing his glass of wine, genuinely interested in what might be her plans for her future.

Felicity pulled her lip between her teeth in thought, just as she was about to open her mouth a loud shrill alarm started to sound from somewhere in her apartment. She was off her seat in a flash and heading for her door. “That’s the buildings smoke alarm!” She yelled over her shoulder as she left the kitchen.

Oliver stood up, seeing Pixel within arms reach and grabbed the cat. He followed Felicity to her door. He slammed into her back when she stopped suddenly. Their bodies nearly toppled through the open doorway as they collided. A tall, rather large African American man stood just on the other side of the doorway, blocking most of the hall. His hands held aloft in front of him in some form of surrender.

“Miss Smoak I’m really sorry, it’s my fault, I was cooking and stepped away for just a moment. Sorry if I distur- Who is that?!” The other man said, leveling a glare on Oliver that made him stand a little straighter in answer.

“Um…” Felicity stood ramrod straight as if she’d seen a ghost, and not the flesh and blood man that stood before her. She shook her head, and then reached back behind her to Oliver's chest. “John, this is Oliver. He’s a… well… um…”

“Friend.” Oliver supplied, trying hard not to feel intimidated by the man in the hall. The smoke alarm still screamed loudly above them. Pixel started to growl and squirm, so he turned and set him back inside the apartment and held a hand out to John. _Might as well make nice._ “Oliver Queen.”

Oliver’s hand hung in the air between them as the man crossed his arms across his chest. The glare the bigger man had leveled him with earlier darkened and hardened further. It was one he was very familiar with, it was the one he himself used on one of Thea’s boyfriends before. _Okay maybe more than one._ He knew when to back off, so he did. This man was just being protective of Felicity and that relieved Oliver on a primitive level. “Okay then.” He said and wrapped his arm around Felicity’s waist, pulling her backward, toward his own body, instinctively away from the now angry looking giant.

“Oh wow.” Felicity sighed heavily, possibly shocked by the change in the man in front of her. She followed Oliver’s guiding and stepped back into him. “Well if it’s not an emergency...”

Someone else was yelling up the stair well, asking if everyone was okay. Felicity yelled back that it was just from cooking, that everyone was fine. John continued to stare, eyes moving back and forth from Felicity to Oliver.

"John are you okay? You look really tense." She reached a hand out toward him but he withdrew backward as if flinching away, she pulled her hand back quickly. Her reaction must have said something to the man because he backed up in full retreat.

“Be careful Miss Smoak! Sorry about the commotion.”

“Yeah, uh… sure… no problem.” The door slammed across the hall before she could finish replying.

Felicity shut her door with a sigh, the screaming detector stopped and they were left standing close together just inside her apartment, Oliver’s arm still protectively around her waist, fingers twitching against the soft material of her dress. The feel of her warm body making his heart flutter wildly in his chest. Felicity turned slowly within his arm to face him.  She let her hands come up to lay on his chest.

Oliver froze, his body warming further to the feel of her so close, too close to keep a level head anymore. He opened his mouth to say something. Something about the man who lived across the hall from her, something about him being scary, possibly dangerous even if he had good intentions, that Felicity should be careful. Instead Felicity attacked his mouth. He couldn’t fight the groan that bubbled up as she pressed her body hard against his. Every feeling he’d been suppressing since he’d arrived exploded and for a brief moment he allowed himself to embrace her, giving into her kiss. He tightened his grip and pulled her harder against him.

Her hands moved up over his shoulders and around his neck. Their nose brushed against each other as she tilted her head, her tongue darted out to taste his lips and he opened his own, willingly granting her access. He wanted desperately to consume her and felt his control slipping when her fingers tugged on the short strands of his hair at the base of his skull. His arms grew tighter around her, not letting his hands wander but giving in to the need to have her against him for just a moment longer.

All her soft curves pressed into his hard ones so deliciously. She nibbled his lip, tugging at his skin and making him groan; feeling the pull clear through his body and settling in his groin. A firm reminder that this could quickly get out of hand, and it was time to scale it back. She licked from one corner of his lips to the other, he pressed them together tight. He started to pull back and she whined against his lips, nipping his skin. His hands moved back down to grip her hips and pushed her gently back down until he was sure her feet were no longer on her tip toes, putting space between them. It physically hurt to do it but he had to.

“Felicity…” He panted against her mouth as she pressed her lips against his again, he returned the kiss but didn’t allow her to deepen it. He looked over her shoulder and spotted a clock, the time giving him a good excuse other than fear to stop them. “We have to stop, we have that musical to go to soon.”

Felicity growled at him and he couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute she looked. Like an angry kitten. “I know I know! But god, I’ve been wanting to kiss you soundly since you got here and now you’re messing up my idea of a good make out session. I’d call you a wet blanket but my mother taught me to be a nice girl.”

He couldn’t stop the full body laugh he felt roll through him. Some of the things that she would say. She was beautiful and sexy even when she was being a smart ass. “You’re testing my ability to abstain.” He said honestly, sighing as her hands slipped down over his chest before falling to her side. “You don’t think I haven’t wanted to kiss you as well since I arrived?”

“Oh I know you did, and I can’t wrap my mind around why you’re holding back. I know you explained it earlier but it made about as much sense then as it does now.” She stepped back, allowing more distance between them, but not stepping out of his grasp. "Which is still no sense at all."

“I’m sorry I’m frustrating you.”

“It’s okay.” She sighed deeply and gave him a small smile. He made to say it again but she stopped him, placing her fingers over his lips. “It really is okay. You’re right, we have to leave soon if we want to make it to the show.”

She stepped out of his embrace and his arms fell to his side, empty and cold. “So I should probably give you the penny tour. I’ve not been too good a host, I mean what if you needed to use the bathroom all this time.”

“You’ve been a wonderful host, but yes now that you mention it, it may be nice to use your bathroom before we go.”

“Right this way.”

Felicity had been right about the penny tour. It wouldn’t have been worth much more. Her loft consisted of the main living area, the kitchen, her room (which he had studiously ignored with the brightly colored bed in the center of the space), a bathroom which was only accessible through her room and a closet. There was a balcony off her room though, which she said was a bonus only the upper units had.

With a pat to a purring Pixel they headed out to catch their cab.

\------

“That show was wonderful!” Felicity gushed, leaning on his arm as they left the theater. He stretched his back again, they'd ended up too close to the stage and his back was grumping about it. But over all it had been a very pleasant experience.

“I really enjoyed it. Not bad for my first broadway show I think.” He guided her toward the curb, not overly anxious to get her back to her place.

They hadn’t discussed what they would do after the show. He felt a bit of melancholy settling over himself. One more day. Then he wasn’t sure when he’d get to see her again, and he would. He’d already made his mind up that much. Felicity was going to have to become a staple in his life.

“Thank you for going with me.” She said turning to face him. Her heels gave her just the right amount of a height boost to kiss his chin.

“You’re welcome.” He lifted his hand reluctantly to hail them a cab.

“You’re frowning.” She said softly, her hand coming up to smooth over his brow.

“I’m not.” He sighed, looking past her.

“You are.” Felicity protested, nudging him back away from the curb. The look she gave him made him slightly afraid to continue in his denial.

“I am, I’m sorry. Ignore me.” Looking away to see another cab sail by down the street.

“I don’t want to go back either. We don’t have to you know. Its not too late yet, we could go do something fun.” She said and he looked down at her then, her blue eyes meeting his. It was hard to miss the slight tilt of her head and the glint of mischief in her eyes.

A curious wariness settled over him as he watched her little grin turn into one of her full megawatt smiles. He was beginning to hope that it was a smile she held just for him. “What did you have in mind?”

“I know this great Karaoke bar...”

“Oh no Felicity, I’m not going to a Karaoke bar.” He shook his head vehemently opposed to the idea of going to one of those places ever again. 

“Where did your sense of adventure go?”

“It didn’t find its way into a Karaoke bar, I can tell you that for certain!” Oliver protested raising his hand again to hail another cab. He drew the line at that suggestion. He wasn’t sure what else he wanted to do but it wasn’t that. Thea had tricked him into it once before and it was the most horrible experience of his life. Well almost, there was this one time a girl kneed him for being an ass. Ass or not no one deserved that kind of backlash. 

Felicity grabbed his arm and pulled it back down, giggling as they started a small back and forth tugging match. “Please Oliver, I promise it’ll be worth it. Besides where is your list of touristy things to do? We can cross this off.”

“That was not on the list!” He should know after all, he'd made the list.

“I’m adding it, as the New Yorker here I get to overrule your objections to adding things to the list. You can’t go to New York and not spend one evening in a Karaoke bar singing show tunes.” She smiled widely, her eyes sparkling in the early evening light.

Oliver groaned, feeling his resolve slipping. The way her smile stretched across her face and the sheer determination to win this little battle had his heart melting again. Who could say no to that face? “Okay fine, fine!”

“Yay! Come on, just trust me, it'll be fun!” 

\-----------------------

Hours later, and too many drinks to count they stumbled out of the bar. Felicity was still singing a very bad rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion. Oliver got a swat for saying he was pretty sure Eminem could sing it better.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d let himself get so far gone. Felicity was so lovely and fun to be with. She made everything lighter and more enjoyable. It was easy to get caught up in it and have fun. The more they danced and drank the more songs they’d sung. They’d made friends with another couple, the one boy looked really familiar. Felicity seemed to know him very well. The woman was named after a flower.

Felicity hailed them a cab and shouted, sang her address at the driver before they tumbled into the back seat. She was half on his lap, cuddled into his side. His body responding immediately as she pressed her face into his neck, kissing and nipping at him. Her breath hot against him making goosebumps raise up along his skin.

The drive to her building passed in a blur. Oliver was so lost in the kisses they couldn’t stop sharing and the touching. She knew just where to touch to make him feel like he'd lose his mind. Once they reached her building he peeled a big bill out of his wallet and handed it to the smiling driver, he wished them a happy evening. He wasn’t sure how they’d made it to the top of the stairs as Felicity dug through her clutch for her keys. The second time she bumped into him knocking him against the brick beside the door he finally felt his head starting to clear a little bit. Was he really about to take her upstairs, both of them more than a little sloshed?

Felicity giggled as the keys slipped through her fingers, landing with a jingling thud at their feet. Oliver bent over to pick them up and got lost on the way back up as he stared at the smooth expanse of creamy skin of her legs and crook of her knee. He wanted to follow her upstairs, everything in his body wanted him to go with this. He stood and unlocked the door, and pushed the door open, holding it for her. He’d wished he hadn’t paid off the cabbie, he was in no state to walk back to his hotel. His emotions swinging between needing to leave to not mess things up, and wanting to stay with her.

“Felicity, I should-" He started to retreat, trying to hold onto the promise he'd made to himself to be better than he was before.

“Oliver," she interrupted him, an edge to her voice before smiling a soft smile at him. "It occurrred to me tonight,” She slurred her words lazily as she grabbed his shirt, tugging him inside the building with her. “Why is it okay to have a one night stand with someone you doont care a whit about but,” she pulled him close and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. He caught himself following her lips like a puppy dog when she pulled away. “Why can’t I have you upstairs, in my bed, when I care a whole lot about you? Why does that make sense?”

He stared at her, his brain crunching at what she'd just said. The words finally connecting. The logic wasn't as lost on him as he thought it would be, especially with the effects of all the alcohol. What was the point? All this fighting a feeling that had been stronger than anything he realized he’d never felt while with Laurel. This was something completely different. To be honest Felicity’s words sobered him up even more. She was right. Why was it okay to just have random hook ups, but when he truly felt something for her, he was holding back? It all came back to one thing though...

“Because I don’t want to fuck it up.” He answered finally, truth in every word. It was his biggest fear. That he would fuck it up and fall into bad habits, Felicity just smiled at him, leaning in close.

“You won’t.” She stated with so much confidence, confidence that Oliver didn’t feel in the least, not yet anyways. She closed the distance between them and kissed him, pushing the two of them further unto the first landing and toward the stairs. He opened willingly, their mouths mating as their hands explored.

They broke for air, both panting, mouths just a breath apart. HIs brain still very worried about how things could go. “How do you know?”

“Because I’m always right, its best you embrace that knowledge now.” Her eyes said it all, she trusted him, fully. So few days between them but she trusted him enough to drink and let them both have fun. She trusted him enough to share stories of her life with him. She nipped his lip, pulling his attention back to her. Her giggle bounced off the walls when he tightened his hold on her, finally he'd made his decision.

“You know what Felicity?” He kissed her, pushing his tongue between her lips, they tasted heavily of cherry from whatever drink she'd had last. He deepened the kiss pressing her body into the nearest wall. Letting her feel just what she was doing to him. She whined needily into his mouth as she lifted a leg to hook around his thigh. He pressed into her, the warmth he found there between her legs amping his arousal higher. He pulled away panting. “You’re right.”

"Duh, I told-"

He kissed her again to shut her up and to pull her up the first flight of stairs. Because she was right. It made no sense trying to fight what they were feeling. So maybe it took him getting a little drunk to let go and see it. But he wasn’t so drunk he didn’t know what he was doing. He wanted Felicity. Deep in his bones he wanted her, in any and every way he could have her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this took longer than I'd promised. Real life is just kicking my butt. Those with kids will understand, those without won't so just know I was just as bummed as you that I couldn't update sooner. I even had one draft deleted by my 2 1/2 year old. Yeah... so fun. 
> 
> I apologize for leaving people hanging with this. But it was getting long, I'd like to keep most the chapters to about the same length. They are easier to write that way. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you always for reading! Let me know what you think.
> 
> Remember I can be found by the same name on twitter and tumblr. Tumblr is a bit crazy with the ship of the year voting/reblogging so... twitter may be better to reach me at. Thanks again!! ~BMG


	5. Right Place, Wrong Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know so many updates!! Trying to make up for lost time. :) Actually, my son decided he'd sleep for a few hours again at night. So I've been able to take advantage. I'm working on 6, about 1k words into it, I won't jinx myself by saying any more.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter, it has some fun times, then some not so fun times. But we knew it was coming right? Don't worry, I just want to remind everyone that this is a fluffy piece more than an angsty one.
> 
> Anyways enjoy lovelies! As always, thanks so much for reading! ~BMG

Oliver woke slowly, his eyes blinking open to a very different ceiling than the one he had become accustomed to seeing. He sighed softly at the feel of Felicity's slight weight splayed over his own body. One arm thrown over his abs, the other under her face resting on his chest just above his heart. Her hair tickling against his shoulder where the warm air blowing in, off her open balcony door, made it brush against his skin. He let his fingers ghost up her spine, feeling every indentation. Committing the feel of her to his memory. He tried to remember a time he'd ever felt so content and so wrapped up in a moment.

There were times with Laurel when he’d felt happy. But never content, at least not this way. Everything about Felicity just sucked him deeper in. Less than a week and he couldn’t imagine anything else. He tried really hard not to follow that white rabbit and what it might mean. He decided he’d just focus on the now. Now was good, better than good.

Last night had been amazing, not at all what he had expected. They’d just barely made it into her loft, tumbling onto the living room floor in a heap. They weren’t even fully undressed the first time she’d unraveled above him, her wet heat throbbing and squeezing his fingers. The image burned permanently in his mind, the way her eyes held his. They were both too gone after that to care that they were still on her living room floor. It was so worth the slight amount of rug burn he could feel on one of his knees.

What followed after was slower, the initial rush slipping into something more reserved. It allowed for them both to explore each other. He was able to file away so many things that made her tick, things like his stubble making her giggle when he ran his chin along her hip bone. He loved the way her skin would instantly cover with goosebumps when he breathed out against her center. They’d taken it slower until the need got to be too much, finally falling asleep in the early hours of the morning, completely spent and satisfied.

His hand drifted back down her spine and dipped under the sheet to follow the curve of her luscious ass. One of his favorite parts of her body, he had never pegged himself as an ass man. He was pretty confident that he has always preferred boobs; small, medium, large, it hadn’t mattered. But Felicity’s ass was perfection. Her skin smooth and warm under his fingers, she shifted closer to him in her sleep, a soft hum leaving her lips. The sound making his body start to thrum with early morning arousal. He needed her again.

Oliver decided right then that this was how he wanted to spend the day today, together and possibly not leaving her bed. He deliberately shoved the thoughts of it being their last day together deep down into the back of his mind. He wouldn’t let it bring down his spirits. Instead he squeezed her butt once more before moving back up over her back, finding his way into her golden tresses.

“Mmm mornin’ Oliver,” she sighed against him slowly waking up, her breath moist against his chest where she laid, her head over his heart. He dug his fingers into her hair clear to her scalp, drawing her up into a lazy needy kiss. She moved to straddle his hips, rubbing her already wet sex against his body.

He thanked the heavens above for giving him someone so responsive. She whined into his mouth as he sucked her tongue, grinding against his hardening cock. She shifted, letting go of his hand to reach sideways, his hand moved to her breast, the one with the piercing. As if her belly button piercing and the industrial in her ear weren’t enough fodder for his day dreams she had to have a nipple pierced too.

God he thought he’d come just from unearthing that little gem. A single small barbell pierced through her right nipple, the skin puckered as the nipple hardened under his thumb. Felicity mewled against his lips and bit playfully into his skin.

“Oliver, you’re playing dirty,” she gasped into his mouth, settling back over him. She sat up and his hands moved down to her hips. He marveled at the lean muscle he felt just under her soft curves.

“Well I want you so much,” he stated simply, thrusting up against her wet sex showing her just how much. One hand moved back up stroking her side, running his fingers over her rib cage and back to her beautiful breast. He rolled her nipple through his thumb and fingers, pulling on the piercing gently. He wondered why she only had one done. “Why only the one?”

Oliver let his eyes meet hers, waiting for her answer. It wasn’t something they’d gotten around to talking about last night, so he was mildly interested. He was easily distracted by her as she brought the foil package she’d gone after to her lips. His hard cock throbbed as she wrapped her fingers around him. He groaned watching the way she tore it with her teeth. How she made something so simple and basic look so erotic he didn't know. He lifted his hips, thrusting into her hand and she smiled like a cheshire cat.

“Only one because it was more painful than I thought it would be,” She answered as she rolled the condom down on his length, squeezing him as she stroked him.

Impatience got the better of him as he pulled her hips forward and guided her to where he needed her most. His tip bumping between her folds making her gasp. She helped him line up to her entrance, then with one thrust of his hips he sunk deep up into her, pulling her hips down onto him with a grunt as she gasped. “God Oliver!”

He sat up then, rolling them until he pressed her into the mattress. Every time felt better, the way her body gripped him, and the feel of her body wrapped around his made him groan. “You feel so perfect Felicity,” he whispered, starting a slow but demanding pace. Her back arched under him as she moved her hips to meet his. He kneeled back pulling her lower back up off the mattress to change the angle.

Felicity’s whole body on display for him. Her breasts swayed deliciously with each thrust. God she was fucking beautiful. He grunted with each thrust into her. He watched in awe as her hands moved up to play and pinch her nipples.

“Tug on the barbell Felicity!” She did as she was told and her inner walls clenched around him. He bit the inside of his cheek and moved his hands to her ass, holding her steady and digging his fingers into the ample flesh.

He leaned down over her body, panting against the skin between her breasts. The angle change made her gasp breathlessly on each thrust. He loved the way her body took every inch of him, squeezing around him, pulling him impossibly deeper. Her hands grabbed his head running her fingers through his hair pulling his face harder between her cleavage. He kissed her sternum before going in search of a nipple to love on. Finding it he hollowed out his cheeks, pulling hard on her flesh.

“Oh god yes Oliver, don’t stop,” her fingers clenched painfully in his hair, pulling as she slammed her hips into his, meeting him thrust for thrust as he picked up the pace. He shifted minutely, widening his legs and she screamed on the next thrust into her. Three thrusts later she stilled, locking her limbs around him her inner muscles clamping hard around him as she came suddenly. Oliver stilled, letting her milk him and come down from her orgasm.

He lowered her slowly to the bed, bracing himself on his elbows. He released her nipple with a loud pop, kissing and nipping at her skin up her neck until he reached her jaw. She melted into the mattress as he whispered into her ear, “God I love feeling you come while I’m buried deep inside you, I can feel every flutter and pull.”

Felicity chuckled, the sound deep and breathy against his cheek. “I think that was a first.”

“Hmm?” he asked, slowly starting to rock into her again, her legs wrapped lazily around his hips. She’d released his hair, running her fingernails up and down his back.

“Coming without stimulation to my clit,” she admitted, her breathing picking up as she started to move with him. “I often need a lot of that. But you just know how to hit all my buttons don’t you?”

“Mmmhmm, I'm a fast learner,” he said, pulling his head up to look down into her beautiful blue eyes. She bit her lip on a gasp as he rocked harder on the next thrust, pressing his pubic bone into hers. “You like something like this right?” He grunted and she gasped, eyes closing as she arched her back into the mattress.

"God yes Oliver! Just like that, don't stop!"

He couldn’t help the proud smile that came to his lips. He liked knowing he could do something that made her come unhinged, something that no one else before him had. He shifts moving one hand down the length of her body, past her hip to hook her leg over his elbow. Opening her wider and allowing him to push deeper into her. He wanted to feel her come again, wrapped tightly around him.

Her nails bit painfully into his skin as he started to push harder with each thrust, chasing his need. She scratched his back all the way up to his neck. He growled into her neck before biting her delicate skin. He could feel the knot tightening at the base of his spine, his orgasm fast approaching but he needed her to come first. “Fuck baby I need you to come again for me.”

“I don't know... oh god Oliver,” she gasped, eyes wide as he adjusted his hips slightly, “wait shit yes, I just need-” she trailed off biting her lip and throwing her head back into the pillow.

“Go on rub your clit, please Felicity, I’m so close,” he grunted, feeling her let go of him instantly, her hand moved between them. He could feel her fingers moving, everytime he thrust in, her fingers would brush against his shaft. She tightened more each time he pounded his hips into her. Her breaths just pants and whimpers into his ear.

“Yes, that’s it,” he groaned into her neck. He was so close, holding off, waiting for her.

“Oh oh oh fuck Oliver,” she screamed as she tipped once again over the edge pulling him over the edge with her.

“Felicity,” her name falling from his lips like a prayer. He stilled as he came, buried deep inside her, his body jerking slightly against her. Her walls spasmed around him, pulling every last drop from him. His mind blinded by the pleasure pouring through his veins.

Oliver kissed along her jaw in a search for her lips. Once finding them kissed her softly, drawing her tongue into his mouth, then exploring her mouth with his. She hummed and lightly ran her hands up and down his back. He held his weight above her until he couldn’t any longer. He rolled to his back, pulling her along with him.

They laid there, breathing heavily against each other, sweaty skin sticking together. He played with the ends of her hair. Their breathing slowly returning to normal.

Felicity hummed against him, kissing his pec. “Mmm, that’s a wonderful way to wake up.”

“Hmm, yes, a million times better than waking up alone in that hotel room, much more satisfying too.” He ran his fingertips up and down her back, staring once again at the ceiling.

“I bet. At least here I have Pixi for company.”

“Mmmhmm.” He felt drowsy, even though he’d been able to sleep very well between their second round earlier and now. He laid there drifting half asleep and lulled to the feel of Felicity’s body on top of his, her breaths puffing out against his skin. He was half asleep before her shifting pulled him back.

“Oliver, can I ask you a serious question,” she sighed, propping herself up on his chest. He let his eyes meet hers. He stilled seeing her slightly thoughtful heavy expression.

“Sure, you can ask me anything.”

“How do you think this is going to work out? Between us?”

Felicity was going straight to the heavy, he didn’t want to think about the heavy shit yet. He wanted to lay here and act like they weren’t going to be separated tomorrow. She would go to work, and he would fly home. He hadn’t made that arrangement yet with the hotel or airline but he knew he would once he left Felicity’s. He sighed heavily returning his gaze to the ceiling.

“I really don’t know. I guess if everything is supposed to work out it will.” He answered honestly. “I mean the distance is going to be an issue, but I’ll think of something.” He played with the ends of her hair, looking back down to meet her gaze again, blue eyes still thoughtful, and she nodded.

“I guess you’re right. I mean it’s not like I don’t fly to Starling occasionally. I mean that is how I met you.” She smiled and leaned up to kiss his chin.

“That's actually pretty convenient,” Oliver said, starting to sit up. He needed to take care of the condom, and go empty his bladder. He also needed to not think about what would happen after today. He wanted to stay in their little cocoon of happiness while he could. A wandering thought had him smirking as he came fully upright. "I have a question of my own, something that I had wondered about before but forgot to ask."

She leaned away, sitting up crossed legged on the bed. “What’s that?”

“What exactly were you doing on that flight that ended up with you getting dumped into my lap?” He slid to the edge of the bed. Felicity looked like he had caught her off guard. "Think about it, I'll be right back." He stood and headed for her bathroom.

He threw the condom in her trash can, then relieved himself. He washed his hands, a look in the mirror had him chuckling, he couldn't remember the last time a woman had marked him with a hickey, but he had a good one at the base of his neck above his collar bone. He wondered at what point that had happened. He dried his hands and headed back to her room.

Felicity sat in the same place on the bed, nibbling her lip and playing with her sheet.

“I um… well you see,” She nervously started.

“Is it really that hard to say?” He asked, sitting back down on her bed, resting against the headboard.

“It’s not really, it’s just sort of embarrassing, as if being knocked over by turbulence wasn’t the most embarrassing thing that's happened to me on a flight so far. Well you see, when you got on, one of the other flight attendants, Joy, she saw you and was gossiping to the other attendants. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. It's nothing new to have a good looking passenger. So I didn't give it another thought until we were prepping the cabin and I actually got to see you for myself," she smiled, a blush coming to her cheeks.  

Oliver remembered, she had to rouse him to put his seat back in the upright position. She'd been firm with the boys next to him. Then just as suddenly as she'd appeared she left again. "You disappeared pretty quick after giving us instructions."

"Yeah I had other people to worry about, I mean I was doing my job. I thought those boys were going to be trouble but they were pretty well behaved."

"I think it was because you put fear into them early on. You're very convincing!" He reached out grabbing one of her hands, needing to touch her and try to draw away some of her nervousness. She'd twisted her sheet into a mess in her lap. "So what happened after?"

"I um..." She bit her lip pausing, obviously going back to the moment. Her fingers laced between his and she sighed before continuing. "Well we took off and the flight was going pretty easily, someone two rows ahead of you pressed their call button and once I'd helped them I turned to go back to the galley and you were sound asleep. I got distracted."

"I didn't know I looked that good when I'm asleep," he said with a chuckle. She squeezed his hand.

"Better. I don't know if I was tired or just really bored but I couldn't look away.  I just kind of got stuck there. I mean I've seen gorgeous guys before. Been with gorgeous guys. But for some reason you made me pause. I didn't even know you from Adam but I just felt this tug. So I stood there looking at you lost in some daydream about who you could be and maybe what your story was." She answered in a rush. His mind trying to process all she said.

"So you were daydreaming about me when the turbulence hit?"

"Yes," she blushed, the red so deep and moved down her neck. He stopped following it’s trek and returned to hers, before he got too distracted from listening to her. "I was so flustered. That has never happened to me before. Not ever!"

"I remember you saying that." He said thoughtfully.

Felicity literally was pushed into his life. He couldn't think of another reason that it has happened the way it did. She'd dropped right into his lap out of the sky basically. He chuckled and ran his hand over his face before reaching toward her and touching the side of her face. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip before closing the distance to kiss her. It was just a brief press of their lips. It had been too long already.

"I never expected my trip to New York to go this way." He meant meeting her and so many other things. It was supposed to be a regroup, not the meet your soulmate kind of thing it was turning out to be. But he didn’t voice that, it felt too heavy, too soon.

“I imagine not.” She smiled, leaned forward and kissed him again. Then pulled back, grinning ear to ear. “So, Oliver, what should we do today?”

“You mean we have to do something other than stay right here in this bed?” He asked with a laugh.

“You’re the one with the tourist list, not me.” She slapped his thigh and nudged his knee, she flipped the sheet off her lap and into his.

“Truthfully, Felicity, I don’t care about that list anymore.”

Felicity huffed out a breath and climbed off the bed. “Have you even done half of it?”

Oliver tracked her movement across the room, she was picking up random pieces of clothing. Everytime she bent over it became harder to stay on the bed, he itched to have her again. She dropped things into a basket then walked back around the end of the bed. “Oliver, the list?”

“I’ve done as much as I care to on this trip.” He answered, grabbing his boxer briefs from where she tossed them on the bed. He didn’t feel like getting dressed far from it as he watched her walk around her room naked. He nearly growled in frustration when she pulled on a too big almost see through t-shirt, blocking his view. “Like I said, I don’t give a shit about the list anymore.”

“Really?” She’d stopped short on her trek toward her dresser and turned to stare at him.

“Yeah really, no more tourist crap.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then slowly stepped toward the bed. She climbed up slowly, crawling on all fours toward him. He could see her breasts swaying through the stretched opening of the overly large shirt she’d pulled on. He felt his heart start to race, as she climbed slowly onto his lap, sitting on his thighs. She laid her arms loosely over his shoulders, fingers playing in the ends of his hair. He was already gone, hard and ready for her just under the sheet.

“You want to stay here, and do what exactly?” She breathed against his lips, his hands finding their way to her hips, pulling her into his lap the rest of the way. He thrust his hips up against her.

“We could talk about the first thing to pop up.” He answered, his voice lower, drawing a moan from her as she kissed him hard on the lips. He dug his fingers into her skin, holding her still when she suddenly rocked against him.

Felicity tore her lips away from his gasping for air, she kissed along his jaw, licking and biting until she reached his ear. “I think I’d rather do the first thing to pop up,” the p’s popping as she spoke.

Oliver growled and tackled her to the bed as she giggled in delight.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Sometime later they finally pulled themselves out of Felicity’s bed, much to her protest. But they both needed a shower and as much as Oliver wanted to stay rooted right there on her queen sized mattress there were certain things that needed to be done. So in the interest of being green they showered together. It was ‘purely for science’ as Felicity put it.

Dressed in the previous days clothes she followed him to his hotel, teasing him about a walk of shame. He was really starting to love her quirky sense of humor, he had a feeling that Tommy would love her and his sister too. He had planned on it being a quick trip in to pick up his things and finish out his bill. But that all changed when Felicity saw the jetted tub and pulled him toward it. She was insatiable but who was he to tell her no. He’d checked out afterward, Felicity quipping to the clerk behind the counter that he'd been most satisfied with his stay.

They headed back to her apartment to drop off his things and we're headed off by a smirking Luann on the fourth floor. She had Felicity's heels hooked on her fingers.

“Looking for these Lis? It’s too bad we don’t have the same shoe size, these are a mighty fine pair of Manolos.”

Oliver had the good sense to feel some shame but Felicity just grabbed them, winked at Luann and continued past her. Felicity amazed Oliver, never apologizing for doing what made her feel happy. He shrugged at the look Luann gave him and hurried up the stairs after Felicity. He could hear laughter behind him and smiled like an idiot the rest of the way up the stairs. It made him feel happy knowing Felicity shared a building with decent people.

While Felicity made preparations for her international flight the next day, Oliver finalized his own plans. He grumbled through the conversation with his travel agent, he wasn’t too happy that the flight he would have to take was one that had him leaving too soon for his liking. He had hoped he could get a flight the next morning so he could spend one more night with Felicity.

It couldn’t all work out perfectly though. That thought had occurred to him more than once over the whole day. He stood staring at her as she stood on her balcony, holding Pixel and loving on the orange and white striped ball of fuzz. The most beautiful thing had happened to him and he had to walk away from it. For the first time in his life he felt like this was right where he was supposed to be, but it was at the wrong time.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

“Call me when you land,” Felicity whispered into his ear. She was wrapped around him as he stood outside the entrance to the security queue. He tightened his hold around her waist, lifting her off her toes and hugging her closer to him.

A ball of anxiety had taken root in his stomach after he’d made the arrangements to head back home to Starling City. A quietness had fallen over them, just needing to be in the moment, choosing to stay in and watch a movie huddled together on her couch. They ordered in from her favorite Thai restaurant and just enjoyed each other's presence.

The ball grew and his chest tightened when the driver, he’d arranged to pick him up, called to say he’d arrived. The ride to the airport so different than the first ride they’d shared together, it was quiet as they held each others hands. His thumb rubbing circles over her knuckles. The air too heavy between them to talk.

He heard a sniffle leave her and he pulled in a deep breath, trying to take in as much of her scent as possible. His throat felt thick and he didn’t know what to say. He settled on just answering her request, “I will.”

He set her back down on her feet, a whimper left her and he felt wetness against his neck. “Why does this feel so hard? It’s too new for this, seriously.” She murmured softly, sniffing, pulling her hand from around him to wipe at her face.

He felt every bit as affected as she did. He pulled back a little so he could look down at her. Her blue eyes wet and slightly red. She hadn’t cried yet except for just one or two tears. Still she was so beautiful. He filed away the soft look she gave him, a small smile despite the fact that they were being pulled apart for the time being. He was already starting to form a plan in his mind on when he’d see her again. “I know it’s hard Felicity. But don’t think of this as goodbye, I’m trying not to.”

“You put on a good front Oliver, but your eyes are looking just as wet as mine.”

“Of course, I just got a taste of what life can be like when you find the one you’re supposed to be with,” he watched as Felicity’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open slightly. He thought quickly over what he’d just said. His own eyes widening as he swallowed, his throat tight. “I mean when you find someone you like a whole lot.”

Felicity’s eyes narrowed but she smiled anyways. “Right.”

“Anyways, this isn’t goodbye. You’ll go to work tomorrow and I’ll go back home to my job and work on a way to make it back here to you.” He smiled down at her, running his hands up and down her back.

“You better.” She said, lifting herself up on her tip toes to press her lips against his. He wrapped his arms around her again, another tight hug as her tongue swept over his lips. He opened pulling her tongue into his mouth. Her hands delved into his hair and tugged, drawing a groan from his body. He didn’t know how he’d survive without having her in his arms. Not now that he knew what that could be like. He tightened his grip, pulling her as hard to his body as he could.

The kiss became more insistent and demanding before Felicity suddenly ended it on a whimper. “I have to - you have to go. You’ll be boarding soon and I … I need to go find a cab and you need to go. So you don’t miss your flight.”

She started to pull away, he squeezed her once more before releasing her. She righted her t-shirt and adjusted the strap of her crossbody purse. Felicity looked tiny, until that moment she’d been so big to him. Filling every space despite her small stature. It was hard to see what this was doing to her. It just made him more determined.

“Thank you Felicity,” he said, reaching out to caress her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into his palm and hummed. “I had the best time of my life.”

Felicity opened her eyes and smiled, his smile. She looked tired still, and like this was weighing on her more than she liked but not so much she wouldn’t give him what he needed. “You’re welcome, Oliver. Be safe.”

“I will, and I’ll call you, the moment I land.” He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips, lingering a moment before pulling away. The sooner he got home the sooner he could get back here, to her. His heart thudding in his chest as he made his way toward security.

He looked back to see her still standing there. He waved and she blew him a kiss. A lady in front of him in the line smiled as they unloaded their items into a tray. She reminded him of his mother, who oddly he couldn’t wait to see.

“You have a very gorgeous girlfriend.”

“Oh she’s -” Oliver started to say that she wasn’t his girlfriend but his heart nearly seized in his chest at the denial. He couldn’t very well call her just a friend. They had felt like so much more than that from the start, and you didn’t have mind blowing sex with your friend. They may not have put a label on what they were, but it sure felt like they were headed in that direction.

“She’s more than just gorgeous, she's thoughtful, hilarious, extremely sweet... she’s the whole package,” he answered instead, grinning as he looked again in her direction. Felicity waved.

“Then she’s a definite keeper,” The lady patted his arm and made her way through the scanner.

“Definitely,” he said with a smile, taking one last look at Felicity before making his way through the machine. One step farther away from where he really wanted to be, and one step closer to starting the path back to her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I almost forgot, I've posted a bonus scene for those who may have missed it. It falls after Chapter 4 and before the beginning of this one. Just wanted to let people know. :) Thanks again!


	6. There's Only Right Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank those of you reading for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I really appreciate all the kind words. - BMG

 

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

“Ollie!” Thea’s voice pulled Oliver’s mind out of the report he was reading. He’d been back to work for four long days. He eyed the stack of prospective projects that never seemed to get shorter. About the only thing that kept him from him wanting to burn the pile was that it kept him busy and distracted from thoughts of Felicity. They'd talked on the phone daily but it wasn't the same.

He looked up at his sister as she sat on the arm of the heavy armchair on the other side of his desk. She was bright eyed and dressed too nicely to just be stopping by for a visit. He had a feeling she was expecting something of him.

“What do you need Speedy?” He asked, setting down the report and pushing his chair back away from his desk. Noticing the time he realized he needed to take a break anyways. It was near time to meet his dad for lunch.

“I was wondering if you had plans for lunch,” she asked sounding so hopeful, reaching forward to play with a crystal paper weight on his desk.

“Actually I do,”  he answered regretfully, watching as she deflated. He felt bad, she had the worst timing in the world. It wasn’t just a temporary condition with her either, she always had the worst timing. Thea was born with it, even entered the world prematurely, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay. She had been the smallest thing Oliver had ever seen in his life. None of that had slowed her down though, hence the nickname Speedy.

“Oh,” she sighed heavily, setting the weight back down on his desk and stood up, “Figures.”

“Hey, it’s just lunch with dad, I would reschedule it but he's already cancelled on me twice.”

Oliver had to have this lunch, his dad had been on a business trip when he’d returned from New York, so he couldn’t talk to him about wanting to expand Queen Consolidated to the East coast. They had partners there but not an actual office. He would have talked to him out of work hours but that hadn't worked either. Even though Oliver was back living at the mansion they hadn’t been able to spend any time alone, so it left Oliver with scheduling time with his own father. Which wasn’t new territory for him or Thea, he expected her of all people to understand.

“It’s okay, I understand, nothing ever happens in this family without it being scheduled first,” she huffed and started toward the door. A part of him hated that she was mostly accurate in her assumption.

Oliver stood and came around his desk, he reached for her hand and tugged, getting her to stop. “Look, how about we do dinner tonight?”

“You are just as bad as dad,” Thea said with a shake of her head and then smiled. “Tonight is the Children's Gala. I’m guessing you forgot.”

“Damn, yeah, can we-”

“It’s really okay,” she cut him off placing her hand on his bicep and smiling up at him. “I just thought lunch would be nice. I really only wanted to bug you about your trip to New York, and your weird new habit of taking calls at really odd hours now.”

He sighed and shook his head. He hadn't realized anyone had caught on to that. Whenever Felicity called he would take it no matter what excuse he had to make. Having a long distance, sometimes ridiculously long distance, girlfriend was proving to be a real struggle.

“I already told you about my trip to New York.” He answered holding his office door open for her.  They headed toward their father’s office just down the hall.

“Yes you did, in very vague broad strokes, I'm not stupid, I know you left out a lot of details. You had been texting with me and mom pretty regularly and then its like you disappeared for a couple days,” she poked him in the side and he flinched. “It’s not like you’ve even shown us a picture of her.”

Oliver hadn’t realized they wanted to see a picture of her. “Really, if I show you a picture of her you’ll be happy and get off my back for a little bit?”

“Pinky swear!” Thea said, holding out her right hand. Oliver rolled his eyes and linked his pinky with hers. It was childish but most the people here had become well acquainted with the Queen sibling's antics. They shook and he fished his phone out of the pocket inside his suit jacket.

He thumbed through the various photos on his phone, finally finding his favorite from the last day they were together. Felicity smiling from the other side of her couch, chopsticks in her hand, holding out a bite of her food for him to try. Pixel was curled up in her lap, totally uninterested. He smiled at the memory. He handed his phone to Thea and his sister squealed while looking at the photo, just as his dad walked out of his office. “Oh my god Ollie, she’s gorgeous! She’s blonde! Oh I have to meet her!”

“Thea, sweetheart what are you doing here, and what’s all that noise about? Contrary to what you may think we actually do work here,” Robert Queen buttoned his suit jacket then pulled Thea into a hug. He looked down over her shoulder at Oliver’s phone. “Is this her son? Oh what’s her name again? Was it Philis?”

Oliver resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his dad. The man could command a company, make his competitors fear him, and remember each and every window Oliver broke growing up but he couldn’t remember Felicity’s name to save his life. “Dad, her name is Felicity.”

“Oh that’s right. Thea, are you joining me and your brother for lunch?” His father already moving on from what he thought was another of Oliver’s flings. Oliver tried hard not to let his father’s nonchalance get to him.

Thea looked at Oliver, her eyes hopeful. Silently asking if he minded her tagging along. Oliver shook his head no and she nodded. A silent exchange between siblings. She handed him back his phone and he tucked it back into his jacket pocket. “No, I think I’m going to go see if mom wants to skip out early and go shopping instead. I want to find a dress for the Gala tonight.”

“Sounds good sweetheart, we’ll see you later. Oliver?” Robert headed toward the elevator and Oliver followed. “So this Filly, girl, is she Laurel’s replacement for the time being?”

“Her name is Felicity,” Oliver grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as they waited for the elevator to arrive. “No, she isn’t a replacement.”

“Felicity? You’d think I’d be able to remember that. Don’t grow old Oliver, it does weird things to your memory.” Robert tapped the side of his head. Oliver had a feeling it was more of a test to see just how much Felicity meant to him. His dad was good with head games.

“I’m noticing.” Oliver answered honestly with a chuckle as the elevator chimed and the doors slid open. His father walked on first and he followed, his dad hit the button and an uneasy quiet fell over them as they rode the elevator down to the lobby.

“What is this meeting about Oliver?” His father asked breaking the silence around the 10th floor. “Usually you aren’t quite as insistent about a meeting you just come find me.”

Oliver sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. His nerves, which hadn’t let go of him since he left New York, spiked up. This was his dad, so he shouldn’t be so nervous. He sighed and looked his father’s direction.

“You didn’t do anything unlawful and that’s why you and Laurel broke up? That’s not why you ran off to New York is it?” His dad, leveled him with a reprimanding glare.

“No no, we broke it off very amicably she’s already with Tommy and no, I didn’t run off to New York because of it. This is about wanting to possibly expand our offices to New York.” He said in a rush as the doors on the elevator slid open. and they stepped out. “Why would you jump to thinking I did something unlawful?”

“Well son, you’ve been a bit high strung lately. Your mother told me I shouldn’t worry about it, but Moira has always been soft about you. The look on your face just now when I asked you about this meeting is the same guilty face you had when you were nine years old. You blamed the broken window on the Merc on a bird. So naturally I thought you had to have done something to make you look that way.” Robert stopped walking to look back at Oliver who stood still just steps outside of the elevator.

“Jeez, I was nine, and no. I haven’t done anything unlawful in years,” Oliver stated, feeling every bit like a child being reprimanded. Only he hadn’t done anything to deserve it.

“Good to know. Let’s go, we can discuss the possibility of expanding your future over a pie.” His father replied, already back in motion heading for the front doors.

Oliver shook his head and followed. He wondered if there would ever come a time when he wouldn’t feel like a child in front of his dad.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

"Mom is letting you eat pizza again?" Oliver asked as they waited for their pie. It's not the normal place you'd catch his dad at during a business meeting. Certainly not one his father’s doctor would approve of.

"You and I can keep this between us," his dad answered sipping from his glass of soda.

"Yeah just you, me and the paps. You brought me and I still tend to draw a crowd. Especially now," Oliver observed as he shifted unbuttoning his suit jacket. He had noticed just that morning when he’d arrived at work the entourage that had met him.

Pictures of Laurel and Tommy having dinner a few nights ago were drawing a lot of attention.  Even more so since there was a major absence of the ring she had been sporting for several years off and on. His friend Roy had just ribbed him about a magazine he’d seen that morning of Oliver on a bender the night before. They’d used a photo from about four years prior. Rumors were starting and it was so exhausting dealing with the crap. He missed New York even more. He missed Felicity.

"Oliver, so what is the sudden interest in wanting to expand out to the East?"

"I just thought it could be a good opportunity. I had a chat with Malcolm Merlyn the other day and he's thinking of securing an office there as well. He picked up one of the same projects we did and it's going to mean spending a bit of time out that way with the partners. He thought it could be a good idea to setup a dedicated office to deal with East Coast business." Oliver answered, trying not to sound overly excited about the prospect. Their pizza was delivered and they both thanked the waiter.

"Malcolm has been interested in an East coast base of operations for a while. He and I haven’t seen eye to eye on it. Mainly because Merlyn Global’s shares are slipping, mostly  due to some bad investments the last couple of years," Robert stated taking a bite from a slice of pizza. He looked thoughtful while he chewed.

"I noticed, but they’ve also started to make a come back. I was thinking if we headed it up and took lead maybe it could help him and make us look like we are open to helping smaller companies out. You'd talked about wanting to do that a couple of years ago." Oliver hoped that his father would appreciate the amount of research and thought he’d put into this proposal. He hadn’t just been sitting around for the last several years. When things weren’t great with Laurel he often had dug himself deep into work.

His dad swallowed and looked Oliver over. Oliver tried to remember he was 27 and not seven. Robert's fingers tapped on the table. He cleared his throat and nodded.

"It's not a half bad idea. I can talk to Richard about heading up an info-"

"I actually talked to Richard about it. He's waiting for your approval on looking at potential office space." Oliver said in a rush, the tension of knowing he’d gone behind his father’s back making him start to sweat. He watched his father's expression. Robert didn't usually approve of people going behind his back. Oliver hoped his father would know that he truly had the  company’s best interest at heart.

"Hmm, it won't be an easy job, and it would mean losing a few employees temporarily here at the main office. I’m just not sure who I would trust with that kind of responsibility. There would need to be some head hunting done."

“That’s ultimately what I wanted to talk to you about, who would be better to spearhead and oversee it than me?” Oliver released a sigh after it was out in the open. “I’m the heir to the throne so to speak. I’ve been under your-”

“Oliver,” Robert sighed interrupting him, and sat his napkin on the table. Oliver knew that sigh well and felt himself straighten in the chair in response. “Look, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why? Haven’t I done everything to prove I am worthy of the Queen name? I changed how I live my life-”

“Back five years ago when I told you I wasn’t going to finance your playing days anymore your answer was to move out. Not on your own but into Laurel Lance’s apartment. You made a promise to me that you would put family first. I was worried about what you’d meant and then you proposed to Laurel. I truly believed you had had your wake up call.”

Oliver knew the story well, he lived it. “I know.”

“For most of those five years you’ve worked wonderfully where you are in the business. I enjoy having your input on matters. It will after all one day be your company. But your personal life has always been a bit of a mess. I need someone who is going to be on their A game, no exceptions.”

Oliver felt his hackles rise, his appetite disappeared. “I don’t see what my personal life has to do with the business.”

“It has everything to do with it. It’s a family owned and operated business. You toyed around with Laurel, the two of you too young to know anything about making big promises in regards to marriage. Your mother wanted a wedding and a grandchild. Your choices greatly influence those around you, whether you want to believe it or not.” Robert’s voice dropped into something he hadn’t heard in a very long time, making Oliver’s stomach turn violently. “Yes, there is no argument about your work ethic, for five years it’s been wonderful. But you ended a five year engagement to a woman you’ve known all your life, you selfishly take an unplanned vacation, no notice to your work, then meet some girl and suddenly you’re interested in using my business to take you to where she is. You’ll have to excuse me if I have to protect the company. I won’t allow you to make a mockery of what I’ve built just so you can chase some tail.”

“It’s nothing like that! Felicity is different!” Oliver snapped, irritation making his skin itch.

He could see where his father's line of thought was going and he didn't like it at all. That's not who Oliver was. It wasn't someone he wanted to be either!

Oliver had handed over a wonderful idea to him, his father was very interested in doing it. But the great and powerful Robert Queen wouldn't allow Oliver to handle it because of his past messy life choices.

It grated his nerves that his father still wouldn’t trust him. Apparently due to his breaking off an engagement that would have been a disaster had they actually gone through with. “I’ve busted my ass over and over, trying to become something you could be proud of and you won’t give me this chance on account of my relationship status?”

“Oliver, son, it has nothing to do with your relationship status. I can’t in good faith, for the good of this company, turn over such a large project to someone who won’t have their head on straight.”

“My head is perfectly fine dad.”

“It’s clouded by a pretty pair of legs.”

Oliver bit his cheek hard enough to taste blood, in order to keep himself from yelling at his father. The all too familiar feel of eyes settled on him made him stop. The restaurant around them became quiet. People were staring.

Robert pulled two bills out of his wallet and set them on the table. Frustration poured from his father, it was almost a physical manifestation between them, it matched his own. They should have had this meeting at home, or in a board room at Queen Consolidated, away from the prying eyes and ears of bystanders.

Oliver, honestly, had not expected the meeting to go this way. He threw his napkin on the table. He tried to pull himself together before he completely ruined everything. He wanted to prove to his father he could do this. He thought quickly through the conversation, trying to pinpoint when things had taken a turn.

Oliver hadn’t been the one to bring up Felicity, but his father had jumped right to her being the reason for his idea. They hadn’t had time to discuss Felicity when he’d returned from New York. But he had talked to his mother, and Thea. He knew that his mother had to have talked to Robert about it. He thought back to the comment about him toying with Laurel, and breaking off the wedding before disappearing. His dad was unhappy with him and he realized it was right for him to feel that way. Oliver sighed. The break up may not have hurt him, but he could see that it had hurt his father, maybe even Moira even though she’d said he’d made the right decision.

All Oliver had ever wanted was to make his father proud, but that was impossible to do if kept making mistakes he had made in the past. He needed to find a way to prove that he had changed back all those years ago. He also realized that his father's decision had very little to do with Felicity directly. It was more about what his father thought of him.

If he was going to convince his dad to do this, it was going to have to be because he was a smart businessman. That he had learned from the best person, his own father. But he needed to be allowed the range to prove it. Oliver took a deep breath, watching as his dad made to get up from his chair.

“Dad, I wish I could make you believe me when I say this idea was born from a want to further the company, not from wanting to ‘chase tail’. I can’t change the fact that I met someone, and I wont tell you that her being there doesn’t make the idea more appealing. I brought you this idea because I felt it was in the best interest of the company.”

Oliver swallowed thickly when his dad resettled in his seat. “I honestly believe that it's the best move for our company, that our legacy will be shaped from what we choose to do from here on out. Five years of working for you has only made the company a higher priority in my life. That won’t change just because of Felicity. I need you to trust me, to just give me a chance to prove myself. I promise you won’t regret it."

His father stared at him from across the table. He tapped his fingers then flattened his hand on the table pressing down as he stood up. Oliver’s stomach fell into his lap. He braced himself for more rejection.

Robert sighed deeply looking away momentarily before pinning Oliver with his eyes. "You've come a long way and I don’t think I tell you often enough that I am proud of you. But I’m going to need some time to consider all of this. I want to believe you when you say it isn’t completely about her. But I see a lot of myself in you and it makes me worried.”

Oliver felt some of the tension leave his body. He breathed out a relieved breath. His dad wasn’t saying no so he would take it. “That’s all I’m asking dad.”

Robert nodded and stood, effectively ending the conversation and their lunch.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

“Oliver,” Felicity breathed into the phone and Oliver smiled. He’d just left the office and was about to head home to dress for the evening when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He stood smiling like an idiot outside elevator in the parking garage.

“Felicity!” He said with too much happiness.

“How is your day going?”

“It’s just ended thankfully.”

“Awesome, so are you at home?”

“Not yet, why?”

“Bummer,” she hummed into the phone. He looked at the time on his watch it was just after five pm his time, so eight pm where she was.

“Are you back in New York?”

“Oh yes, I just got in a couple hours ago. Went Karaoking and dancin’ and booozin’ with the girls and thought of you, so thought I would call you.”

“I am so grateful you called, I missed your voice. Why are you bummed that I’m not at home yet?” He made his way over to his beemer, he leaned against it. Listening as she giggled into the phone, he chuckled realizing she had drunk dialed him. Which meant she was in no state to have a real conversation with. He had wanted to tell her about his conversation with his dad, but decided to back burner it for the next day.

“Oh no reason.” She sang softly then sighed, the sound washing over him. Her happiness helped him release some of the tension in his own body. His body responding as it recognized that particular sigh, then she moaned softly into the phone and he knew that she was more than just wanting to talk. He unlocked his car and quickly lowered himself into the driver’s seat.

“Felicity, are you alright?” He inquired, knowing she was more than likely just fine. He pulled the door shut, relocking as it clicked closed. Another giggle and the sound of something dropping in the background had him smiling. Then she grunted and there was some shuffling before she sighed.

“Huh, oh Oliver um… Yes, I’m alright. Just fine, just fine.” Her breathy voice making his spine tingle. He shifted in his seat adjusting his growing erection in his slacks.

“What are you doing?” He asked, his voice coming out low, his throat suddenly dry at the thought of what she might say. She sighed out a breathy moan, and he knew without a doubt she was doing something he would give anything to see.

“Nothing.” She answered, the lie and fact that she was inebriated making her giggle. She was most certainly not doing ‘nothing’.

“I want to see nothing,” he said, settling as low in the seat as he could. He let his free hand rest on his thigh, waiting to hear what Felicity would do next.

“K,” she replied, shuffling replaced the sound of her breathing as he rubbed him thigh, slowly moving up to where he was throbbing with need. Seconds later his phone vibrated, he pulled it away from his ear, putting  it on speaker, he opened the image. His heart seized in his chest.

“Oh god Felicity,” He groaned, all pretense gone he unbuckled his belt and unfastening his pants. She had sent him a photo, it showed the soft cream skin of the tops of her thighs, legs spread slightly apart, her center was covered by pale pink lace. One hand was pushed under to top, he could just make out the purple nail polish she wore on her fingernails through the holes.

“I miss you Oliver,” She breathed into the phone. “I had hoped you were home so we could skype.”

Oliver leaned his head back against the headrest. He’d never been more happy for his secluded parking spot in the garage, and tinted windows. He lifted his hips and shifted his pants and boxer briefs down far enough to free his erection from their confines. Even with the tinted windows though he made sure he was covered by the ends of his shirt.

“I miss you too baby. I wish I could feel you, we could skype later.”

“This will work, god I’m so wet just thinking about you.” She answered softly into the phone. Her voice and breathing filling the small space of Oliver’s car. He wrapped his hand around his shaft and stroked himself slowly, trying to find the same pace as Felicity. “Tell me what you’re doing?”

“I’m stroking myself,” he answered, groaning as she gasped. He closed his eyes and imagined being in the same room, watching as she laid on the bed. Legs spread wide and inviting. God he never thought he would ever hate Starling but he did in that moment. “Are you rubbing your clit baby?”

“Mmm, yes, feels so good, not as good as your tongue,” She moaned, the sound making his dick pulse in his hand, he stroked himself a little faster, fingers squeezing as he twisted, rubbing up over the sensitive head. He imagined moving down her body, his face between her thighs, breathing her in.

“Fuck,” he groaned, his hips thrusting up into his own hand.

“Oliver… I wanna see too,” she whispered, and his hand faltered. He thought about sending such a risky photo, she’d just sent him one but technically she was covered. Whatever, he decided it didn’t matter. He picked his phone up off the console and brought up the camera. He tried to center the pic, snapped it and sent it before he could think too much about it.

He heard shuffling and then a loud ‘fuck me’ leave Felicity’s lips on a groan.

“Oliver…”  more shuffling over the air, then seconds later his phone vibrated. She was bare now, the lace panties barely visible at the top of the picture,  as if she was too impatient to strip them all the way off. One finger was buried deep between her folds. He ached to be able to taste her, thrust his tongue where her finger was.

“Felicity, put in two more fingers baby, I know you can take more than that,” he groaned, stroking his length faster, speeding up as her breaths became louder.

“Mmm oh yes Oliver, oh god...,” he could hear the soft sound of her fingers moving in and out of her slick flesh. He listened as she sped up, matching his speed with hers. He groaned, as he rubbed what seeped from the tip down his shaft. He was so close, his need for release mounting with every whine and whimper he heard over the line.

“Im so close,” she whimpered, her voice barely audible.

“Oh baby I wish I was there,” he grunted out, reaching with his other hand to play with his sack. “I’d suck your clit into my mouth, flick my tongue over it until you came screaming my name.”

“Yes yes, oh my… yes… I’m oh fuck...” she screamed out. He thrust quickly up into his hand, his back bowing off the seat, he swelled between his fingers before suddenly crying out in his own release. He came all over his fingers and onto his pants, and the steering wheel. He fell back against the seat, panting with his eyes slammed shut

“Shit Felicity,” he groaned, slowly stroking himself to prolong his orgasm.

“Mmm, Oliver, you’re amazing.” He chuckled, letting go of himself, he reached over toward his gym bag on the passenger floor board and grabbed an old t-shirt. He tried to clean up what he could. Then tucked himself back into his pants. His heart still pounding in his chest.

“Thanks baby, I really needed that.”

Felicity sighed and there was some shuffling before she came back to the phone. “I’m glad I could help. Would have been better if you were here,” She said drowsily, a yawn coming across the speaker. She made an adorable squeak at the end.

“You must be exhausted.”

“You sound tired too. How did the meeting go with your dad?” She yawned again. "Sorry."

“How about you sleep and we can talk about it tomorrow?” He answered, reaching forward and starting his car. He put his phone in the docking cradle, bluetooth picking up a second later, her voice coming over the cars speaker when she hummed softly. He smiled. He would take these small moments and be grateful. He wasn’t sure when he’d get to see her again, a lot depended on his dad.

“Sleep good. May do that.” She mumbled and he laughed, backing out of his parking spot to head home and get ready for the Children’s Gala.

“Yes, do that, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Night Oliver.” She said as the phone beeped, ending the call before he could say goodbye.

Oliver shook his head. It never ceased to amaze him that she would call right when he needed her most. The day hadn’t been the greatest, and as much as he really would have loved to tell her everything it was nice to just let it go for a little bit. To just get lost in a little bit of fun. He felt lighter than he had when he originally left his office.

He wasn’t sure what his dad would decide about the expansion project he’d proposed. But whatever was decided, Oliver knew he would find his way back to New York. Even if that meant leaving behind the family business for a little while.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I love hearing what you think. So hit me up. I'm also on twitter and tumblr under the same name. -BMG


	7. Struggle is a Prelude to Success

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

The Children’s Gala, had been a huge success, the turnout had been one of the biggest in recent years. They’d managed to pull together a rather sizable donation for the children’s hospital at the Glades Memorial. Oliver was proud of all that his family accomplished on a daily basis. They weren’t perfect, not by a long shot. But even with their shortcomings his family genuinely cared about the people in Starling City.

Oliver forgot just how much he enjoyed some of the kids they invited each year, it was by far his favorite charity event. He spent a lot of time hanging out with some of the young boys, laughing as they challenged him to a basketball tournament the next time he came to visit the hospital. He danced with a couple of the girls, encouraged by Thea, to make them smile.

He studiously ignored the press that hounded him from the sidelines. This was his first public affair since his and Laurels break up. The reporters outside had shouted questions asking what his plans were now, did he see them getting back together, who was he seeing now.  

He danced with his mother, and his sister before he finally bumped into Laurel. He thought it would be awkward, but it felt relaxing and natural to ask her to dance.

“You look happy,” he said, smiling back as her smile lit up her face.

“Thank you Ollie, I feel happy.”

“I’m relieved, I had fears that you would hate me for everything I’ve put you through.” He turned them around the dance floor, catching Tommy’s eyes. His friend tipped his champagne glass in his direction and smiled.

Laurel sighed and squeezed his hand, drawing his attention back to her. “What happened was both of our faults. It’s not fair for you to take all the responsibility Ollie.”

Oliver nodded. “I’m glad you and Tommy are together.”

The smile and blush that covered Laurel’s face told Oliver everything he needed to know. He had made the right decision to end things once and for all. Her reaction was something he couldn’t remember ever experiencing when the two of them were together. It warmed his heart that his two friends could be that happy together. It gave him a lot of hope for his own future.

“Tommy has always been a wonderful friend. It’s interesting trying something new and finding it’s the easiest thing in the world. Thank you Ollie. If you hadn't ended it I think we would have made the biggest mistake."

"I don't think it would have gone that far. You're smarter than that!"

"You give me more credit than you should. Yeah, I'm pretty smart when it comes to law stuff but I was so wrapped up in what I thought being a Queen could do for me that I would have done anything for you. At first I felt powerful being with you. But somewhere along the way I'd become stronger all on my own. I just didn't know how to end it with you." She smiled up at him. "Every time you ended things I thought 'This is it, we can move on now' then you'd come back a day or several days later and we would be right back where we were. So I was just at much fault as you."

"I didn't mean to toy with you Laurel."

"I don't think you were toying with me. I think we were friends. It was easy most of the time, even if it was wrong. I have to ask, what made you finally do it?"

"Tommy," Oliver answered, watching as a puzzled expression clouded her face. He stopped moving, following his lead she stopped moving too.

"I don't understand."

He was pretty sure having this conversation at the Gala wasn’t the best time, but he needed to be truthful with her. He considered her one of his best friends. They had too much history to let things just lay between them.

"Let's step outside." Laurel nodded and followed him toward a balcony off the ballroom. They stood in the warm, damp summer air. Oliver rubbed his hands over his face before leaning back against the railing.

"So how did Tommy make you change your mind about us?"

"He didn't change my mind so much as opened my eyes. Do you remember that last fight we had?"

"Yes... It was about the venue for the reception. It was the fourth one you'd turned down. I was so angry because you had been the one to suggest it. We barely talked for a week. Then you came in one night drunk off your ass and slept in the guest room. Two weeks later you were packed up when I got home."

"The night I got drunk I had gone out with Tommy. I laid it all out there, every insecurity I had about us getting married. He told me that if I loved you I wouldn’t feel so insecure about it. It was so blunt and so Tommy. We ended up getting so hammered that night. But I remember thinking I can’t do this until I figure out what’s wrong with me. His simple statement made me really dig in and look at our relationship. What I found was that I did love you. But like I said the night I left, I didn’t love you in the way that was right for what we were planning to do. I want to apologize because I don’t believe I ever did love you in that way.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that, I’m not going to hold it against you. We were young and just finally grew up.” Laurel leaned against the railing beside him. She bumped his shoulder with hers. “You may want to never let Tommy know that it was him that opened your eyes. He’ll never let you live it down.”

Oliver chuckled along with her. He turned to look her over. She was smiling, her brown eyes sparkling in the setting sun. He enjoyed the way the weight of the air felt lighter around them. It was better than it had been in years. They'd spent so long trying not to rock the boat, now that it was overturned and empty he felt more free than ever. He was grateful for her being so accepting of everything with how they’d ended things. “Thank you Laurel.”

“You’re welcome Ollie, though, I should be thanking you.”

“I just want you to finally be happy.”

“I am,” she leaned into him, her head on his shoulder.

He enjoyed the silence for a few moments. Though it didn’t last much longer, the clearing if a throat made both Oliver and Laurel startle. He looked toward the door they’d come through earlier and found Tommy standing there. Three flutes of champagne in hand.

“Tongues are definitely wagging in there. Imagine the recently single Oliver Queen missing from his first public outing since he broke off his five year engagement, also missing from said outing the one and only Laurel Lance,” Tommy said handing them each a flute and tapping each glass with his. “If I wasn’t privy to so much inside information I may be green with jealousy.”

Oliver and Laurel both chuckled awkwardly. He sipped his champagne. “Man, are they really talking about us in there?”

“Only since you left the dance floor arm in arm. It’ll blow over I’m sure. I do think your mom was looking for you though.”

“Thanks for the talk Laurel,” He said before finishing off the champagne in his glass.

Laurel set her flute down and reached for him. He gladly returned her hug as she whispered in his ear. “I hope that you can find someone that makes you just as happy Ollie, you deserve it.”

She brushed a kiss to his jaw before pulling out of his arms.

Oliver nodded before heading back to the party. His throat constricted but his steps light. He looked over his shoulder at the last moment, Tommy and Laurel were hugging each other close. He watched as the two people who he’d always been so close to, easily gave themselves over to a kiss and pulled his eyes away. He felt an ache in his chest, wanting the same thing and still trying to come to terms with knowing that he may have actually found it. She just didn’t live on the same coast as him.

Oliver stopped at the edge of the dance floor, his eyes scanning the thinning crowd for his mother. The crowd a lot thinner than before, a few couples danced, some of the press were still making rounds and a couple smaller groups of people stood talking. He didn’t see his father anywhere.

He sighed deeply as he felt his mother’s presence next to him. She slid her arm into his, he covered her hand with his large one and patted it when she gave his arm a squeeze. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. They watched as Laurel and Tommy reemerged from the balcony. Soft music still played and Tommy lead her out onto the almost empty dance floor.

“They look darling together. I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of them so content or happy. No offense to you son,” Moira said, smiling at the couple.

Oliver sighed watching them. Her words were true, but he wasn’t offended at all. He’d known something was broken long before he did anything about it. He was just glad that part of their lives was over. They could all move on maybe settle down.

Something his father had said earlier during their lunch bubbled back up to the surface. He turned his head slightly and took in his mother’s expression. It was soft and wistful. He’d seen it once before, at the party that his parents had thrown for him and Laurel when they’d first gotten engaged. A pang of guilt washed through him.

“I’m sorry mom,” he said, the guilt weighing on him.

“Whatever for Oliver?” She’d turned to look at him, her eyes searching his face.

“Dad said something today, something I hadn’t even considered.”

“I heard about your lunch today, I can only imagine what all he said. Try not to be too upset by your father. He’s just really worried about what you are doing with your life.”

“I know, but what he said was somewhat true. I hadn’t really thought about how our lives impacted yours. He said you had looked forward to the wedding, to maybe grandchildren. I can't imagine what you’ve felt during our ups and downs.”

“Every couple has their ups and downs Oliver. Of course I was excited about the prospect of you marrying, and maybe one day having a child of your own. Laurel is like a daughter to us, we’ve known her so long. But I think we both were in some pretty serious denial over how the two of you were together.” She patted his arm and pulled him toward a table. “Come, lets sit down.”

He held the chair for her as she settled, then sat in the chair next to her. “I shouldn’t have let Thea talk me into these stilettos, I’m getting too old for this.” She unfastened them and dropped them to the floor.

“Where is Thea?” Oliver asked, looking around the room and not finding her.

“She headed off somewhere with your one friend, what’s his name... “ She hummed a moment thinking, “a Roy Harper.”

Oliver growled and shot to his feet. Of all the… “Why would you let her go with him? He’s too old for her!”

“They are only three years apart. Calm down Ol-” Moira grabbed his arm as he made to step away from the table. “Oliver, I said calm down. Now come sit, don’t leave me all alone. She will be fine, and Roy is a nice boy.”

Oliver huffed as he sat down. He would have to have a word with both his sister and his friend. He didn’t even know that Roy was interested, or that Thea was interested. His head spun a moment before he took a few shallow breaths, trying to do as his mother instructed.

“That’s a good boy.” She patted his knee like she’d done when he was growing up. “Now where were we… Oh yes, we were in denial about the two of you. We’ve always wanted what's best for you, and that will never change. I didn’t fully grasp that maybe Laurel wasn’t the best fit for you until the first time you called it all off. The two of you in the midst of a yelling match at the mansion. The way you had finally just backed down and went off separate ways, it was very telling but two days later things were back to normal. I really was relieved when you finally called from New York to explain everything. ”  

“I remember that fight, it was horrible.”

“Yes it was, I’m not sure anyone could forget. We were in the midst of a dinner party. All those guests," his mother tsked shaking her head. "Anyhow I got over it, just like I have accepted this latest development. But your father, he is a much different creature. He won't admit it but I think he looked forward to a wedding and a grandchild even more than I did. He often doesn’t know how to show those around him how much he loves them. If you had come to me before scheduling the meeting with him I could have instructed you on how to navigate the conversation with him.”

Oliver sighed and looked away. He knew she wasn’t reprimanding him but he could hear it in the undertone of her voice. “I hadn’t realized it would be so ill received.”

“It wasn’t. We talked. You have a brilliant idea, and he ultimately will do it. I bet he'd even be honored to have you spearhead it like you want. Give him some time to come to terms with it. Try to think from his side of things. In the course of two weeks you’ve stripped an almost daughter from him-”

“Laurel’s still here, she’s not going anywhere and we are on good terms so its not like she’s never going to talk to the family again!” Oliver stated quickly, cutting off his mother. She leveled her ‘don't continue or else’ glare. He snapped his mouth shut.

“Listen to me before you get all worked up. You and I know she’s still right here, but it's the idea of it.  All his dreams evaporated when you guys ended it for good. He wont voice it but I know that’s what he secretly wanted. Then you leave us to go clear your head, which at least I understood. But you come back with stories of a new woman that you’ve met there. He wasn’t thrilled, afraid you were going to fall into old habits of jumping from one woman to another. Then you ask to meet with him and discuss expanding the company, which excites him that you’ve taken such a grand interest in the business. It’s been his dream for so long. But you don’t just suggest that the company do it, you want to personally move there and control it, which would pull you away from Starling and the main office for who knows how long, and to the place where this woman lives. It's a lot to take in all at once. Do you think he's wrong for being a little wary of what's truly motivating you? Whether it's actually the company or this woman?”

“I-” His argument fell as it started to form on his lips but then stopped. His mother giving him a knowing look.

Some of his father's reaction started to fall into place. It was a lot to take in, Oliver himself felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of what he felt for Felicity at any given moment. It was sudden and deeper than anything he’d felt for Laurel. He longed to be where ever she was, and being in Starling made that feeling stronger. Laurel had always just been comfortable. But he didn’t miss her when she was busy or gone.

What he didn’t understand was why his father had used that attachment as a horrible thing. That he thought just because of his feelings he’d fail to take care of his job. He enjoyed working with his father, he wouldn’t change that unless he had no other choice.

Oliver looked up at his mom and shrugged. “But why is it such an issue? Why should my personal life matter, it never has before? All the times Laurel and I had issues, I never once neglected my job. That must count for something. It’s not like I’m some outsider trying to revamp our business.” Oliver said, the anger from earlier starting to settle once again inside his chest. His father’s inability to let go of things wasn’t his problem. It didn’t mean he couldn’t do his job.

Moira sighed deeply closing her eyes. “Oliver, it doesn’t have anything to do with you, or Felicity.”

“Oh he made it pretty clear that it was. Saying that my head was clouded by a pair of pretty legs. I mean yes she’s got pretty legs but I’m more of an a-”

“Its not about you, its about him!” She stopped him mid ramble, and he couldn’t have been more relieved. How had Felicity’s rambling rubbed off on him? Oliver thought about what his mother was saying and it still didn’t make sense. Her face was clouded with something dark, her eyes hard but not looking at him.

“I don’t understand what you mean? Why would it be about him?’ He asked, sounding every bit as confused as he felt.

“Oliver,” She sighed again, reaching for his hand. “Son, its about his own indiscretions, and it’s something you’ll have to ask him about, it’s not my place to tell you. We both know you aren’t your father, but he knows all too well how slippery the slope can be. As much as you don’t want your personal life to cross into your professional life sometimes it does. He’s a businessman, he knows the risks and he’s worried about the ones you seem willing to make.”

“I really dislike secrets mom, especially when they have my father doubting my abilities.” Oliver stated, frustrated that his mother wouldn’t just tell him what she was talking about. Frustrated that his dad couldn’t separate himself from the equation and just trust him. Annoyed that it was likely going to keep him apart from Felicity even longer.

“Oliver, give your dad time. Let me talk to him, trust me it was just a knee jerk reaction to everything just being dumped on him at once. He loves you a lot. It will work out.” Moira reached over and patted his where it rested on the table.

“I hope you’re right mom.” He said, rising up from the table, the room having gone silent moments before. It was about time for them to head home. He was exhausted from the day.

Oliver watched as the band packed up their instruments and noticed the press had left. Laurel and Tommy were talking quietly at one table, and a handful of businessmen chatted at the far end of the room. Cleaning crews were already packing up the chairs and tables. He reached out and helped his mother up from her seat. He bent down and grabbed her shoes, handing them to her. At that moment Thea reappeared through one of the doorways off the main lobby.

“Hey, you guys are still here? Closing down the place huh? It’s lucky for me though since Roy had to leave but refused to run me home. Something about Ollie killing him if he did.” Thea came to a stop next to her mother and slid her arm into hers. Oliver chuckled and shook his head. Roy had better sense than he thought.

"Smart move, you're only 17 and he's 20. I don't think dad would approve either!"

"Man you have so little faith in me. I'm not stupid. Ollie, why do you look so gloomy?” Thea bumped his shoulder with his.

“I’m fine, tired, this day was much too long. Let’s get out of here.” Oliver answered truthfully. He was more than ready to head home and try to get some sleep. He gently lead his mother toward the doorway to the hotel lobby.

“I bet. I saw a report on Twitter that you and dad had some argument at that pizza place he likes so much. Speaking of which, mom, where is dad?” Thea asked. Oliver groaned thinking about what people might have overheard. But there wasn't really anything they could do about it. It was just a part of their life.

“He had to go to the office, he may be home already.” His mom said giving him a look. "He hadn't mentioned that you guys had pizza at lunch."

"It was supposed to be just between us. Maybe you just need to give him a break mom?" Oliver replied, a questioning smirk lifting his brow at his mother.

"I guess maybe you're right." She smiled back at him.

Thea made a loud production of yawning and leaning onto his arm as he led her toward the door. “I’m so ready to go climb into bed!”

“You’re not the only one,” His mother said as they made their way into the main lobby and asked for their driver to get the car. “I was thinking Oliver, maybe you could invite Felicity to come out to Starling to visit. It would be really nice to meet her.”

“Yes invite her out Oliver!” Thea said excitedly, “We want to meet your new girlfriend.”

Oliver sighed and ushered the two women out the front doors to their waiting car. “She isn’t my girlfriend yet. Just someone I’m really interested in.”

“Interested enough not to notice the high society women here at the gala tonight that were fawning over you.” His mother said climbing into the town car.

“Well, from what the way you just denied that I’m going with her being your girlfriend.” Thea said as she climbed in after their mother.

Oliver just rolled his eyes and huffed out an exhausted breath climbing in after Thea. He left his their comments hanging in the air as they drove home. He wasn’t willing to get into a discussion about his feelings when he was still figuring them out.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver rolled over, something was making an annoying sound near his bed. There was silence before the rumbling began again. He reached blindly through the dark in the area of his nightstand. His phone bumped into his fingers as it vibrated across the surface.

Grabbing it and sliding his thumb quickly across the front he put it to his ear without looking. “What!” He grumbled grumpily into it.

“Well hello Mr Sunshine!” Felicity cooed through the phone, into his ear. Goosebumps moved across his skin as her voice came through the fog. He blinked at the ceiling above his bed, trying to wake up.

“It’s too early,” he grumbled, the alarm clock on the other night stand read four thirty-two in the morning.

“I’m so sorry, I know it’s early, but I have a busy couple of days coming and I wanted to catch you before I had to leave.” She answered softly, sounding regretful. He sighed deeply, trying to grumpiness and grogginess of just waking.

“It’s okay, what’s up?” He sat up against the headboard, rubbing his free hand over his face.

“I wanted to know about the talk with your dad.” Felicity had a bad habit of just getting down to the nitty gritty when he didn’t want to.

“It didn’t go well,” he answered gruffly. “Correction, it went so horribly I am considering leaving the company.” It wasn’t exactly true but it was the first solid thought he had, being too early, and his dreams hadn’t helped with making him the biggest ray of sunshine.

“Oh Oliver… really?” She sighed as he huffed out a breath. A small part of him wanted to take it back, then the part that missed her more than he understood wanted to quit right then. He was pretty sure any one of the companies that they worked with would pick him up. He hadn’t actually filled out a resume in his life but he knew people he could talk to. “You wouldn’t really? I mean family is important. That company means so much to you, you wouldn’t give it up.”

“Felicity, he doesn’t trust that I’m making the decision with the best reasons behind it. He thinks I’m motivated by you.” Oliver wouldn’t voice how much truth was behind that, especially since he’d decided that overall it was the best thing that could happen to Queen Consolidated. It wasn’t just about him. No matter how much his father may have thought it was.

“I guess he’s not too far off the mark. If you hadn’t met me would you really want to be moving to New York?” She tried to reason with him. He didn’t want to be reasoned with.

“That’s not really fair, Felicity. Don’t side with him,” Oliver groaned into the phone, the irritation evident in his voice.

“I’m not siding with him. I’m just trying to see things from his perspective.”

“His perspective is skewed due to his own shortcomings. It’s not my fault that he made bad decisions in his past” Oliver regretted it the moment the words were from his mouth, the gasp that Felicity let out was enough of a reprimand that he felt guilty over it. But not enough to take it back.

“Ouch. Oliver, that wasn’t very nice and doesn’t sound like the man I… the man that I know. Pixel, off the counter!”

“I’m sorry, but my mother says it’s something he’s working through, from his own past, but she wouldn’t tell me what it was. How am I supposed to know how to battle this if I don’t know what I’m fighting against?” He groaned, fully awake now and climbed out of the bed. He headed toward his adjoined bathroom and filled a glass. Drinking the water down he angrily set the glass back down onto the counter. The crack in the glass more satisfying than it should have been.

“Is that all she said?” Felicity asked, a loud thump sounded over the phone along with a muttered ‘oomph’.

“Are you okay?” Oliver asked, wondering what could have made the sound, wishing that he could be there.

“I’m fine, just my suitcase. It’s a longer trip this time. Anyways, don’t change the subject, what else did your mom say?”

“That I should give him time.” Which Oliver felt went against his plan for his future. A future he longed to have with Felicity.

“I like your mom.” Felicity said on a breathy sigh.

Oliver chuckled. “I don’t want to give him time. Time means we have to wait. I’m sick of waiting.”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” She answered with a giggle.

“Ugh, I hate that saying so much. They actually have proven that wrong you know. It just makes people more frustrated.”

“You sure are a grumpy gus when you get woken up in the morning.”

“I’m only grumpy because I don’t have you here to make me happy. Fighting with my dad isn’t really helping. Talking about it, is just making it worse.”

“Oliver, baby it’ll work out. Your dad will either come around or we will think of something else.”

Oliver sighed and wandered back to his bed. He sat on the edge and looked at his laptop sitting on his desk. An idea formed in his mind. He wanted to see her, hearing her voice was fine but getting to actually see her face was different. “I want to see you. The distance is killing me.”

“I… I want to see you too but-” Felicity sounded reluctant.

“Come on, Felicity, we can skype for just a minute right?” He walked over to his laptop and opened it, he entered his password and opened the skype application.

“I’m really supposed to be walking down the stairs right now. I have a flight in two hours. The cab should be here any moment.” He could hear the resignation in her voice, and the sound of tapping. She was saying ‘no’ but she was actually logging on.

“Please sugar, just for a little bit, I just want to see you other than in a picture.” He poured on his puppy look, hoping it translated to his voice.

“Sugar huh? You’re such a sap.” He watched as her skype name popped online. His heart raced, excited to get to see her. He clicked to connect, a window came open and then she was there, smiling softly across the internet.

“Oh My GOD!” Felicity shrieked a moment later. “Oliver, you’re naked!” Oliver gave a full bodied laugh as she looked anywhere but at her computer.

“Well you are the one that called and woke me up.” He answered not the least bit sorry.

“That is totally unfair. Cover yourself!” Felicity laughed covering her eyes.

“No, I plan to go back to bed once you log off. It’ll be easier if I’m nude.” He winked and she just shook her head.

“We should talk about your dad.” Felicity tried to steer the conversation back in a direction he didn’t want.

“I’m done talking about it. Like you said, he’ll either get over it or I’ll come work for someone else there in New York.”

Felicity sighed and leaned in closer to the camera, her finger pointing at the camera. “Oliver, you are not to make any drastic decisions, do you hear me?” Her voice firm but the smirk on her lips made the attempt look false.

“I’ll do whatever I need to do. You look lovely in that uniform by the way.” He smiled, remembering the first time he’d seen her in it. He hoped one day she’d model it for him so he could peel it off. He felt desire spike through him, wondering which panties she may have on under the skirt. He’d lost count of how many times he’d dreamed of pushing the skirt up while he took her from behind in one of the cramped bathrooms on an airplane.

“Oliver, your mind is clearly shifted to the gutter this morning,” her eyes shifted to the side up and away, she shook her head and chuckled. “I knew turning this on would be a mistake.”

A loud shrill bell sounded and Felicity frowned. Oliver frowned in turn. “The car is here.”

“Oh wow, you weren’t kidding.” He felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Yeah, hey, but look at the bright side, you now have a fresh look at me in my uniform, so you can… you know take care of um… that!” Her hand moved wildly through the air and he chuckled.

“I’d rather you were here to take care of it.” She smirked back at him and bit her lip, but stood up.

“I’m gonna go, Oliver, remember nothing drastic. Giving it time won’t hurt anything, try to listen to your mom and I’ll see you before you know it, I may be able to pick up a Starling flight in a couple weeks!” His heart soared at the idea of her visiting him. It had already felt longer than necessary.

“That would be amazing, I would love to introduce you to everyone. Don’t miss your flight.” He answered resigned to having to hang up. Her image dropped from the screen so he closed his laptop. He could still hear rustling in the phone.

“I really miss you Oliver. I promise we will see each other soon, hopefully within the month. Okay. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.” She said softly, her voice cracking slightly on the last word.

“I miss you too, more than is probably healthy. I don’t want to promise that.” He said truthfully. He was sick of putting his life on hold.

“Please, try.” She said, followed by a goodbye to her cat. He could hear the jingling of keys as she locked her door.

“I promise to try then.” He offered her reluctantly. She breathed out a breath as he heard her start down the stairs in her building, the suitcase thumping in the background.

“Okay, goodbye Oliver, get back to bed or something. Try to be sunnier when you wake back up.” Felicity said with a laugh.

“Bye Felicity, call me when you can.”

“I will. Bye.”

Oliver set his phone on his nightstand after it went silent. He frowned standing back up and going into his closet. There was no way he was going to go back to sleep now. He pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and a pair of running shoes. There was a treadmill in the downstairs gym that had his name on it.


	8. Forelsket

A week later Oliver walked into Big Belly Burger, lighter than he’d felt in days. He looked across the tables, to a familiar booth in the back. He spotted the dark hair of his best friend. He headed toward the booth, waving at the waitress as he slid into the seat across from Tommy. It had been a very long, boring work day so far it’s only saving grace was that it was Friday. Oliver was more than happy for the distraction when Tommy had called him in a rush telling him to meet him for lunch.

“What’s up man?” Oliver said as he smiled at his friend, sliding into the other side of the booth, only to find Tommy distracted by his phone. Tommy’s eyes were locked on the screen as he typed swiftly.

“Not much, just let me finish up this email.” Tommy answered, not bothering to look up.

“Sure,” Oliver said as he leaned back into the seat back. He was too content to be bothered by too much. He could wait for as long as was needed. “Take your time.”

He thanked the waitress when she brought him his usual vanilla milkshake. Being a regular fixture in the community had some perks. He couldn’t remember how many times they’d sat in the this very booth over the years. They had talked about all kinds of things here, most recently had been the evening Tommy had told him about being in love with Laurel.

Tommy sat his phone to the side and leaned back in his seat covering his face, he groaned dramatically. “God, my dad is going to be the death of me. You had to go and talk to him about your interest in moving to New York. So now he’s got it in his head that I might want to go along. I’m not remotely interested in leaving Starling right now.”

“Sorry man, maybe you could get him to talk to my dad, convince him it’s a good idea for me,” Oliver said taking a drink from his shake.

Robert Queen had ran off to China, then Japan on business so they had yet to talk about his offer. Oliver had made the decision that he’d give his father another week then he was going to confront him, if nothing came of it then he’d consider that his answer. He had already started putting out a couple feelers looking to shift to another company outside of Queen Consolidated for work in New York. If his father couldn’t trust him then maybe it was time to move on.

Tommy shrugged and grabbed a couple of fries and shoved them in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully staring absently past Oliver.

“It’s only partly your fault. I think you just reignited his interest. I've known about his desire to expand east for a while now. A while back I even told him I may be interested in the change of scenery."

"Because of me and Laurel?"

"Yes. But now things have changed. I understand his wanting an actual Merlyn to oversee opening another office, especially with recent events in the company. But it’s honestly not in my skill set. I can’t have that much responsibility. I don’t want it.”

“Was that why you needed to have lunch? To discuss getting your dad to back off?” Oliver asked, grateful for the time alone with his friend. But he was confused as to what this lunch meeting could be about.

“No, you and I haven’t had much time to talk since that night I spilled my guts. You ran off the next day, now I’m together with Laurel, you’re pining over this woman who is literally a world away, where is she right now?”

“Florida, I believe. I can’t remember if she’s left already or not,” Oliver answered, unable to keep a smile from once again slipping onto his lips. Today she was in Florida but in just days she’d be here with him. He had a text message waiting for him that morning from Felicity. She hadn't had time to call but that didn't matter. Felicity was going to be in town on Sunday.

“Brother, I have never seen that wide of a smile on your face,” Tommy stated with an answering smile of his own. “This woman is different isnt she? I mean she’d have to be to have this kind of affect on you.”

“Felicity is... Different. She’s got this crazy sense of humor, and she rambles when she's excited or nervous about the most inappropriate things,” Oliver answered, thinking about her only made him increasingly happy that she was going to visit. She had woken him up and given him a glimpse of what he ultimately wanted from life. “She kind of lights up the room. She's crazy smart, graduated from MIT. She just grabs life and goes.”

The waitress interrupted him as she brought Oliver’s burger and fries. His stomach grumbled at the wonderful smell. He thanked the waitress as she left. He reached for the burger and took a large bite, Tommy watching him as he chewed. He thought about what Felicity would think about the food here. He decided they’d have to make a trip here at least once. Oliver’s smile deepened, as he thought about sharing his home with her. She didn't say how many days she would be spending in Starling but he hoped at least enough to show her around town.

"Oliver!" Tommy clearing his throat brought Oliver back from his thoughts. “Dude, you are so gone. I thought I may need to call for smelling salts or something. So when will I get to meet Felicity?”

“Well,” Oliver smiled, “she is coming in to Starling on Sunday. I’m not sure how long she will be here but I’m hoping maybe we could have a barbecue at the mansion. Just family.”

“You mean you’ll share her with us?” Tommy asked with a laugh, before finishing the last remaining bites of his burger.

“All depends on how long she’s going to be in town. If it’s only going to be for one night I may have to reconsider.” Both he and Tommy chuckled, Oliver lifted his burger but watched his friend as he quieted down. “Was there something else you wanted to talk about?”

Tommy startled, his eyes returning to Oliver’s briefly before looking back down to the table. “I asked Laurel to marry me.”

“Thats great!” Oliver said, excited for his friend. Years had led to this moment and he couldn’t have been happier for them. Of course if he hadn't been such a knucklehead then it could have happened sooner.

“Yeah?” Tommy looked up, his eyes filled with uncertainty. Oliver shook his head, amazed that his friend seemed to need some form of approval.

“You’ve been in love with her for years Tommy, and I know she loves you. She did say yes, right?” Oliver feeling that possibly she hadn’t. He couldn’t think of anything that would have stopped Laurel, except maybe how little amount of time had passed since they called it off. But in all honesty it had been over between them for months, more like years before.

“Of course she did!” Tommy answered immediately, a large grin spread across his face. His shoulders lifted in relief. “Thanks, man I appreciate you being happy about this.”

Oliver shook his head and chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my closest friend, basically my brother.”

Tommy’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. “You never tell how things can go. Like when I told you I was in love with her, I was pretty sure that you would punch me in the face.  It breaks guy code to fall for your best friend's girl.”

“That ship had sailed Tommy. You’d picked the perfect time to come clean, I’d already decided to end things when I met you for dinner. I was just as relieved to hear you say it as you looked having gotten it off your chest.”

Oliver was genuinely relieved that things were finally falling into place for the both Tommy and Laurel. Seeing the love Tommy had for her made him long for the same. A small voice deep inside whispered that he was well on his way.

Tommy’s phone chimed and with a quick glance at it he groaned. “Man, I have to go back to work. Dad is looking for me.”

“It never ends right?”

“No, but it’s good. It’s probably something about New York. Maybe he could take mom there. She keeps going on about wanting to vacation there,” Tommy said as he reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out his billfold.

“If you need a list of touristy crap for them to do let me know. I have an extensive list,” Oliver stated, watching Tommy throw a twenty on the table.

Tommy laughed and stood up. “Dude, do I even want to know?”

“Not likely, just know you can count on me,” Oliver answered with a laugh. He fished his own wallet out of his pocket and dropped his own money on the table.

“So Sunday?” Tommy asked buttoning his suit jacket.

Oliver nodded. “That’s the hope, I’ll let you know for sure. Be sure to bring Laurel.”

“Like she’d let me live that one down. I’ll see ya later Ollie!”

Oliver finished the last of his food before heading back to the office. Happy to have spent time with his best friend and looking forward to the weekend.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver made it back to his office only to find his dad sitting in the chair across from his desk. He glared at his assistant when she handed him a stack of missed messages and some mail. She just shrugged and mouthed an ‘I’m sorry’ in his direction.

“Hey dad, sorry I didn’t know we had a meeting or else I would have been here sooner. I hope you haven't been waiting long.”

“Its alright son. We didn't have a meeting, I just got in and thought I would stop by.”

“Well in that case what can I do for you? Do you need anything? Coffee? Water?” Oliver asked, placing the envelope and missed message notes his assistant had handed him down on his desk.

“No I'm fine. I wanted to discuss New York with you,” Robert answered, drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair.

Even though he'd been eager to have this discussion just hours before he had almost been prepared to wait. The first bit of anxiety pooled in his stomach as he thought about what his father may say. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down in the chair behind his desk. He let his gaze finally meet his dads. “Alright, what about it?”

“Firstly, I’d like to apologize for avoiding you this last week. I know I’ve been on business but there were times in between trips that I could have talked to you.”

Oliver gave a nod in understanding. He knew his father was a very busy man and with that his personal time with family was often sacrificed. Even with the big white elephant in the room he loved his father and wouldn't judge him for doing his job. “I understand you being busy dad, thats nothing new. You don’t have to apologize to me, business comes first.”

“I had hoped you wouldn’t ever think that was the truth. Family should always come first. I have spent too much time away from you and Thea. But that's not what I wanted to discuss with you. I know you wont like to hear this but I would like more time to make my decision on New York.”

“No, it’s not what I-” Oliver started to argue, annoyance at being put off making it hard to control his temper.

Robert’s fist slamming on the arm of the chair cut Oliver off. “I would like you to hear me out on this before you get worked up. Last I checked I am still your boss.”

Oliver felt his own hands ball tightly into fists in his lap. He gave his dad a curt nod to continue, keeping his jaw clamped shut.

“Thank you,” Robert said, clearing his throat. His father's fisted hand opened and he gripped the arm of the chair, the sound of the leather flexing under his fingers. “I haven’t always been a good man, definitely not a good husband, and an absent father. Sometimes I still don’t believe I deserve the admiration I see from you and Thea.”

Robert stood and began pacing the room. Oliver had a dozen questions spring into his mind, but the way his father was acting kept his mouth shut. He’d only ever seen his father pace once before, the night that his mother was taken to the hospital before Thea was born. Nervous energy poured from his father, causing his own anxiousness to rise.

“I never wanted to tell you or your sister this, there didn’t seem to be a need since your mother forgave me, bless her. Generally, I believe that some things are better left unsaid, but in light of how badly I responded during our last meeting I felt it was long past time to tell you. When your mother was pregnant with you I strayed. The company was still fairly new, I was 27 and felt like I was untouchable. Things got carried away with an intern in our office and all too soon I was facing a lawsuit and the possibility of losing my company and your mother.”

Oliver sat stunned, silent. Never in his life had he ever thought his father capable of something like that. He maybe witnessed a handful of fights between his parents, most because of him. Not once had he ever had a reason to believe that they had ever had problems.

“Dad, I…,” Oliver started only to stop. He tried to let it sink in. So his father at the same age as him made a mistake. A huge one by the sound of it, a lawsuit that risked him losing everything he’d worked hard for. But that didn’t mean that Oliver was going to go down the same road.

“So you see, it’s easy to get swept away. I need to know that you aren’t going to be distracted in a way that affects the company. Felicity is an unknown to me. I don’t know if I can trust her, or how she’ll make you react in tough situations if she's involved.”

Oliver stared at his dad. He wished that this idea had come to him long before he ever met Felicity. Then maybe his dad wouldn’t be using his own past to lose faith in him. “Dad, I swear I wouldn’t let anything like that happen. I know you don’t know Felicity, but can’t you have some faith in me? In my ability to do the right thing when needed? She isn't an intern for the company. It's not the same thing at all.”

Robert gripped the back of the chair and leveled Oliver with a steady gaze. “I made a horrible decision while lost in the heat of a moment. I never thought I would ever be capable of that.  It affected my business and my personal life,” he sighed, looking down for a moment. “But, I also know that my past shouldn’t be used to keep you here under my thumb.”

“Then don’t dad. Let me do this? Give me just a little bit of room to show you what I’m capable of,” Oliver said as he returned his father’s gaze.

His father sighed and stood up taller. “I would love to Oliver, but these things take time to put together. It could take months to find a building and put together a team. I hadn’t realized just how big of a rush you were in until I got a call from Janice at Cypress in New York. She had been surprised and honored that you had called looking for possible open positions within her company, even though it would be a huge downgrade for you. Oliver, I’m asking you to give me some more time to decide if this really is in the best interest of our company, crunch the numbers so to speak. I know you’ve changed. I’ve seen it, and I’m proud of you. I just see so much of myself in you that I wish I could ignore my worry.”

“So I’m just supposed to wait?”

“Yes, son, I’m asking you to give me time.”

Oliver stood and paced the area behind his desk. His father wasn’t telling him yes, but the door was opening. Maybe not all the way but just enough to give Oliver some hope. It wasn’t everything he had hoped to hear but he would take it, he turned back to face his dad.

“Alright dad, you’ve got it,” Oliver answered coming from around his desk toward his dad. He held his hand out and his dad shook it.

“Thanks son. Now I’ll get out of your way, I’m sure you have other more important matters to attend to. I know I do,” Robert said as he headed toward the door. “I’ll see you at dinner later?”

“Sure, 8 o’clock right, and thank you,” Oliver answered.

Robert gave him a nod. “Right, 8 o’clock.”

His father strode out of Oliver’s office while he returned to his desk. Oliver felt hopeful after their conversation, at least his father was willing to give him a chance. He wasn't too thrilled with having to wait. He was still considering moving anyways, because the distance between him and Felicity was harder than he thought it would be.

Deciding it didn't do any good dwelling on it at the moment he would distract himself with work. He lifted up the stack of messages from his assistant. Looking through the phone calls most of them would only take a few minutes to return. An envelope on the desk which had been on the bottom of the stack caught his attention, his name in loopy cursive. He lifted it and something shifted inside. He used his letter opener to open one end of the envelope. He tipped it up, dumping the contents onto his desk. There was a hotel keycard to the Starling City Plaza Hotel with a blue post-it stuck to it.

Room 513 - Hope to see you tonight! Dinner maybe? - xoxo FS

Excitement flared through his chest. She was early! Oliver pulled his phone out of his pocket, no messages, no missed calls. He passed the key from one hand to the other, tapping it on the desk. Why hadn’t she called? Oliver looked at the time on the clock on his desk. It was only just after 3pm. She didn’t leave a time for him to come to her. He should really finish out the work day.

But oh how he wanted to see her. It had been a long two and half weeks. He decided he didn’t give a crap. He shutdown his computer and rose from his desk. He buttoned his jacket and headed for the door. He told his assistant he was going home and to forward any calls to his cell. Felicity was in town and the last place he wanted to be was at work.

 ****  


~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver got out of his car and looked up at the hotel. He opted not to run home beforehand, coming straight from work at QC. He was too eager to get to her. He smiled as he started his walk toward the building, somewhere in there was the woman he couldn’t wait to see.

Felicity was one smart cookie by sending him a hotel key. He was able to access a side entrance without going through the lobby. It would have raised too many suspicions if he’d walked into the hotel during the daytime hours when he should have been at work.

He made his way up to the fifth floor, the elevator taking longer than he had patience for. He turned the keycard around between his fingers. He wondered if she would be expecting him so soon. He didn't have a clue since he’d decided not to call or text her, following her lead.

Oliver stopped outside the room that she’d indicated on the post-it. His heart pounded in his chest. Seeing her on video and in pictures through his phone hadn’t been enough. Now he felt himself having to prepare himself for the living breathing version.

He moved forward with the card, about to slide it through the mechanism when he stopped. It didn’t feel right. He knocked instead, his knuckles rapping on the solid wood door just below the peephole. He straightened and waited with barely contained happiness.

“One second!” Felicity’s voice muffled through the door just barely audible. There was thump against the door and then an ‘Oh’. Oliver’s breathing sped as the door swung open wide. “Oliver!” She exclaimed, her voice breathy in awed surprise.

Oliver felt stunned silent by the vision in front of him. There Felicity stood in a black lace bra, matching panties, and black lace topped stockings which stopped mid thigh, straps kept them in place. She was breathing heavily, her breasts heaved almost spilling out of her bra, her blonde hair loose and damp at her shoulders.

“You’re earlier than I expected!”

“You’re stunning!” he said in answer, stepping forward, watching her eyes widen, her lips raising into his beautiful smile. Felicity reached for him at the same time, grabbing his tie and pulling him forward as she launched herself into his arms.

Their lips crashed together as he lifted her against him, fingers digging into her ass as her legs wrapped around his thighs. Carrying her, he stepped further into her room, he kicked the door closed behind them. Their kiss deepened as she opened her mouth, his tongue slipped over her sweet full lip and into her mouth sliding along her tongue. The hand not fisted in his tie delved into this hair, fingernails biting into the skin of his scalp.

He groaned into her mouth as she ground her hips into his, his growing erection pinned between them. He could feel her wet heat through the thin fabric of his pants and her barely there lace. He pulled his mouth from hers to kiss and nibble along her jaw, looking over her shoulder to locate the bed.

“You wore a suit,” she breathed into his ear, biting the lobe, moving her other hand to his tie she loosened it, expertly pulling the two ends apart, “you look sooo fuckable in a suit. Did you come from work?”

Oliver chuckled into the tender spot, he knew drove her crazy, on her neck drawing a delicious moan from her lips. “Yes! I couldn't wait to see you. I can't believe you answered the door in lace and skin, it could have been anyone at the door!”

"No one else knows I'm here," she answered, gasping when his tongue slid over her skin.

He nipped the skin of her neck, felt her fingers falter while unbuttoning his shirt. His knees hit the edge of the bed and he pitched forward lowering her to the mattress. He let his hands move up from her ass to her hips following the edge of her panties.

Felicity stared up at him, biting her lip, he leaned down and pressed a kiss between her cleavage on her breastbone. Her body arched up against him, their hips meeting as he thrust against her center. He loved the sound of her breath catching in her chest.

Felicity finished unbuttoning his shirt, moving her hands over his chest, down over his abs. His muscles rippling at her touch. His fingers dipped into the top of her panties searching for her heat. His fingers dipping into the wetness collected there as she whimpered below him, she let her legs fall away from him, pushing up into his fingers as he slid two inside her. She felt gloriously tight and squeezed him before he pulled out. He would have loved to slow down but he was so hard and ready for her. They could do slow later.

He bit tenderly into the fleshy mound of her left breast and she cried out. The sound making him twitch in his pants. Needing to feel her wrapped around him.

“Oliver, I need you, please,” she begged, tugging his shirt from his pants. He stood up, dragging her panties down her thighs, stopping only to unbuckle the straps keeping her stockings up. He finished pulling her panties off and pulled them to his nose. He breathed in her beautiful scent. Oh how he had missed her.

Felicity’s eyes wide as she watched him, he tucked them in his jacket pocket before shrugging it off. She sat up, wrapping her legs around his thighs, pulling him forward as she pushed the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. She placed kisses against his pecs, moving to lick and nibble one of his nipples. “Fuck me,” he groaned as her teeth grazed over the sensitive nub.

Oliver delved his fingers into her mess of curls and pulled her face to his, capturing her mouth in an open kiss, their tongues mating. He reached behind her unhooking her bra, she shrugged it off, tossing it to the side. Felicity returned her hands to his abs, fingers making a fiery trail over his skin finally stopping at his belt, she made quick work of unfastening it. Oliver moved his hands down to her hips, lifting her effortlessly to move her further up on the bed.

“Felicity,” he moaned as their lips parted, her hand pressed over his arousal through his pants, rubbing his length. He thrust into her hand and she squeezed him. “Fuck,” he groaned, if she kept that up he wouldn’t make it. He climbed onto the bed between her legs, shifting to pin her hips to the mattress as he thrust quickly against her.

“Up up… now move up,” she panted, pushing against him, trying to get her hands between them. He moved his hands beside her body, bracing himself on his elbows and lifted his hips, giving her hands the access she wanted. She made quick work of opening his pants as his lips moved down the column of her neck, nipping and sucking as he made his way to his favorite nipple. It was already pebbled, standing proud as his tongue laved over it. The cold metal of her piercing against his tongue. He shifted to one arm, letting his hand move lovingly down her side, moving past her hip and under her his hand full of her round cheek.

“Oh god… Oliver please…” she whimpered as she pulled him forward with her feet, and pushed his pants and boxer briefs down with her hands. He bit into the dusky skin, pulling the nipple between his teeth and she screamed, pulling him down on top of her as she tightened her legs around his hips. He pressed his hips into hers, thrusting his bare length against her core. She was so wet, coating him as he slipped through her folds. He ground his hips against hers, applying pressure to her clit, his hand gripping her tighter, fingers flexing.

“Oh oh … please Oliver please…I need you inside me,” she panted desperately. "Now right now!"

Oliver shifted and her hand found its way between them, she guided him on his next thrust forward and he slipped inside her. They both groaned, feeling her stretch around him, her inner walls gripping him tightly as she adjusted to him. He pulled back and thrust again, going deeper as she tilted her hips.

“Oh god yes Oliver,” she cried out before biting into his shoulder with the next rocking of his hips. The pain and pleasure making him cry out against the skin of her breast.

Oliver felt like he’d been lost for weeks, only to find home buried deep inside her. Something flared up deep in his chest. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, a ball of tension settled deep in his chest. He didn’t want to dwell on it. He opened his eyes and watched her as he drew his hips back again and slammed back into her harder. She clenched tightly around him, drawing him in deeper.

“Oh my Felicity,” he gasped into her skin, moving to the other breast as he gripped her tighter, fingers digging, thrusting repeatedly into her inviting heat. Her inner walls gripping him. Her hands grabbing his ass and encouraging him to fuck her harder. Each time they met he snapped his hips, loving the gasp it drew from her.

Felicity’s toes dug into his still covered thighs as she thrust up to meet him. Sucking hard on her other nipple drawing another loud moan from her lips. He felt her walls start to flutter, her cries becoming more desperate. His own release building, a low heat gathering rapidly at the base of his spine. Sweat rolled down his back as he drove into her faster.

“Felicity, baby, please come for me, I can’t...” he gasped against her breast, shifting so he could find her lips. He shifted, instead of bracing on his elbow, he curled his fingers over her shoulder, pulling her downward on the next thrust.

Felicity screamed and bit him hard at the base of his neck, her body tightening as he bottomed out inside her. He could feel how close she was, each thrust into her harder as she tightened. “OLIVER!” She cried out, eyes popping open to look into his, pupils blown wide as she came undone around him. Her nails biting into his back.

“Yes, oh Felicity,” he gave three hard quick snaps of his hips and stilled, his orgasm pouring through him. He spilled buried deep inside her, her walls milking him. He gripped her as tight as he dared, holding her body tightly to his as they gasped for breath. Her body twitching in his arms.

Slowly the pleasure ebbed, their sweaty skin sticking together, he shifted, rolling to take his weight off of her, but pulling her with him. He was far from ready to pull out of her. Felicity draped her body over his, her face pressed into his neck. Their breathing slowed as he ran his hand slowly over her skin, from her ass up her spine and back again.

Felicity sighed deeply, mumbling something into his skin, her body becoming heavier. Her lips stuck to his skin. Her breathing leveled out, puffing out against his neck.

“What was that?” he asked, his voice gravely and low. His only answer was a soft snore against his shoulder. He smiled and closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of her hair, recognizing her conditioner. A smell he hadn’t realized he missed. She was here and everything felt right again.

A deep sigh left his body as warmth from earlier spread deep through his chest, filling him to the brim. Not wanting to think about what it all could mean, he held her closer and allowed himself to follow her into sleep.

 


	9. Change Often Requires a Leap

 

“Oliver.” Something was pushing at his side, poking into his ribs. Oliver grunted, rolling over. “Ooaf… Oliver!”

Oliver’s eyes popped open to see Felicity staring at him, half caught under him. “Are you okay?”

“Mmm, yes, I think someone is trying to call you,” she said shoving, him he rolled onto his side. She looked past his shoulder. He listened and didn’t hear anything. Then his phone started to chime.

“Oh, that’s just an alert,” he stated, reaching for her. She had little wrinkle marks on her shoulder, her hair still in a tangle around her head. He leaned in and kissed her shoulder. She was laying on her stomach virtually naked, next to him. She sighed softly as the chiming picked up again. Maybe not. That was someone calling but they could leave a message.

“Don’t you have a dinner thing tonight?” Felicity asked and his mind drew a blank. Five whole seconds passed where they blinked at each other. Her words finally settled in and he shot up into a sitting position. Panic flooding through his system. He couldn’t believe he’d let himself fall asleep. If he was late his father would have just one more reason to doubt him.

“Oh crap, yes, with my parents,” Oliver replied, he turned to look in the direction she had just a moment before. The green numbers on the clock glowed brightly, 7:15 pm. Oh thank heaven! “In forty five minutes actually.”

Felicity sat up beside him before sliding to the end of the bed. “Then we best get ready.” She hopped off, grabbing her bra and heading toward the bathroom. He was instantly distracted watching her ass sway as she walked away. She turned just before disappearing through the doorway to look at him. “Oliver, your phone!”

He shook his head and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Yep, I’ve got it!” He said hopping off the bed, pulling his briefs and pants back up onto his hips as he bent over grabbing his suit jacket from the floor. He retrieved his phone from the pocket as it started to vibrate and chime again. He slid his thumb across the screen as soon as it was in his hands.

“Hello?” He asked, answering the phone in the blind due to not looking at the phone in his haste to answer it.

“Oliver, oh thank god you’re alright, I’ve been trying to reach you for an hour. Your assistant said you’d gone home but you’re obviously not here,” his mother’s desperate voice came across the line, “Please don’t tell me you’re skipping out on us tonight. Thea has already cancelled, something about a party at a friends house to celebrate her graduation next week. I had to talk your dad into eating at Table Salt, you know how he hates busy high end restaurants. All the social media hounds and news crews are not his cup of tea,” Moira said in a rush, her voice full of tension.

“Mom, I’m sorry, I’m absolutely fine, and no I’m not going to skip out on you,” he answered quickly, to offer her some relief. He reached down, righting himself in his underwear before pulling up his zipper. He would have preferred a shower but there wasn’t any time for that. Maybe later.

Felicity exiting the bathroom caught his attention. She was wrapped in a burgundy dress, her hair in a simple high ponytail. She walked toward him and turned, her bare back on display as she pointed over her shoulder at her zipper.

“Oliver? Are you there?” his mother’s voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

“Yes, sorry,” Oliver asked before leaning forward to press a kiss against Felicity’s neck. Oliver begrudgingly pulled Felicity’s zipper up. She turned and placed a kiss along his jaw and wandered back across the room and disappeared into the bathroom once again. A crazy idea formed in his head and he went with it. “Hey mom, would you and dad mind if I brought along a guest?”

“A guest? I guess that would be fine. Who’s the guest?” his mother’s voice dipped with curiosity at the end.

Oliver smiled, watching as Felicity reemerged from the bathroom with a small box and moved to the supplied vanity.

“Well Felicity just came into town, I thought maybe you could meet her,” he answered.

Oliver silently hoped that Felicity wouldn’t mind going to meet his parents. It felt like it was a rather large step so early on in their relationship; but since she was in town he figured it was a good a time as any. Especially since he was living with his parents, while only temporarily, they would end up running into each other anyways. Meeting at a restaurant would level the field.

“Oh darling, that’s wonderful! Your father and I will be delighted to meet her!” Moira’s voice held more excitement than he thought was totally appropriate but he smiled having made her happy. He wasn’t sure if his father would feel the same sentiment.

“Thanks mom, we will see you and dad shortly,” He answered, Felicity smiled back at him through the mirror before dabbing something on her face.

“Try not to be too late!” Moira replied before she hung up.

Oliver slipped the phone onto the end of the bed before heading toward where Felicity stood in front of a mirror applying make up. He wrapped his hand around her waist, his hand flat against her stomach. “Are you okay with this? Meeting my parents?”

“Of course Oliver, why wouldn’t I be?” She asked sounding truly unsurprised as she used a pencil to smear something dark across her lower eyelid.

“You don’t feel like it’s too soon? We aren’t even an official couple yet,” he replied, instantly wishing he could take it back as a frown fell upon Felicity’s lips. Her brow furrowed as her eyes met his in the mirror.

“We aren’t?” She asked, the pucker in her brow growing deeper in confusion. “You don’t think we’re an official couple?”

“I don’t mean that we aren’t, I just didn’t think we had put a label on this yet,” he answered, back pedalling as much as he could. He’d never seen that kind of look on Felicity’s face before. He hadn’t meant to hurt her.

“Hmm, well when I talk to my friends I refer to you as my boyfriend. I guess I just kind of assumed that we were,” Felicity confessed, Oliver’s heart hammered in his chest as he pulled her back into his chest, his hand moving upward to press against her sternum. She shrugged, the frown still clouding her face. She made a great production of searching through her little bag. “But then you know what they say about assuming, so if you rather us not, I mean I can-”

“No!” he blurted out, cutting her off. Her blue eyes meeting his in an instant, “No, I don’t mind, really I don’t. I like it, being able to call you my girlfriend will make introducing you to my parents easier,” Oliver said placing soft kisses along her neck. Felicity breathed out on a long deep sigh and he watched as the previous tension left her body. He smiled against her skin, moving up the long column of her neck to kiss in the hollow below her ear.

“That’s enough of that, you need to get ready or we will never get out of here, and you just promised her that we would be there soon,” Felicity pushed back with her hips, trying to get him to move off of her.

Oliver chuckled and pulled away from her. “I wish I had known you’d be here today, I wouldn’t have agreed to this dinner.” He wandered over to the bed and reached down to pick up his shirt off the floor. Then the sudden realization that he’d never told her about the dinner hit him. How had she found out about that? “Felicity?

“Hmm?” She hummed as she spread something across her lip with a finger.

“I didn’t tell you about the dinner,” he said holding the shirt in his hands as he stared at the back of her head.

Felicity flinched, eyes slowly meeting his in the mirror. “You must have told me.”

“No,” Oliver shook his head and slipped his arms into his shirt before walking toward her. “My mother made the arrangements just yesterday. It’s not something I would have told you about, being pretty mundane, then you were busy today-”

“Maybe you did-”

“Felicity?” Oliver cut her off, staring at the back of her head. She was lying, and not well. Not once had she acted so strange. Anxiety started to flutter in his chest. How had she known? He stood behind her, watching as she stared down at the vanity instead.

“Your sister,” she said on a sigh, slowly turning to face him.

It was his turn to frown in confusion. “Thea?” Felicity nodded and Oliver stared at her in disbelief. But how?

“Don’t look at me like that! One day I’m just minding my own business and I get this text from a number I didn’t recognize saying they were your sister. I ignored it at first, but she kept messaging me. I was busy so I didn’t have time to research it for a couple of days but then I realized it was the same area code as your number. So finally putting two and two together I started to message back and forth with her. We’ve been chatting ever since.” She finished in a rush.

“Why didn’t you tell me before that you were talking to her?” Oliver asked in awe, grabbing Felicity’s hand and lacing his fingers through hers.

“I didn’t want to get her in trouble. She said that she lifted it from your phone one day at the office. She just wanted to get to know me a little bit.” Felicity answered with a shrug, squeezing his fingers. “Don’t be too angry with her. She's been really fun to talk to. I’m excited to get to meet her face to face.”

Oliver thought back to when Thea could have grabbed Felicity’s number. Then it clicked, the day he’d shown her Felicity’s picture, he’d been distracted by their father and the meeting. That speedy little sneak! Oliver decided to let it go. It wasn’t like it was hurting anyone that his sister had messaged Felicity. He smiled and leaned in to press a kiss against Felicity’s forehead.

“I’m not angry with her, or you. I hope you are ready for her though. Texting with her is one thing, but in person…” he let his voice trail off trying to think of the best way to describe her.

“Spunky?” Felicity supplied, “Oh wait I know, determined? Stubborn? Am I getting close?”

Oliver chuckled. “Among other things, overbearing came to mind first."

"I'm sure I'll love her," Felicity stated firmly.

Oliver smiled and thought about his idea of doing the barbecue. He still hasn't run that by her yet. "Hey, I was thinking that maybe we could have a barbecue on Sunday, assuming you’re here that long. You could meet her and a few of my close friends,” he offered.

Felicity smiled bright and wide. "I'd really like that, I’ll definitely be here at least that long.”

“Of course that’s if we survive this dinner with my parents,” he said feeling a little nervous at how his parents may receive Felicity.

Felicity clicked her tongue making a tsking sound. “Oh Oliver, you’ll survive it just fine.”

“I think I would rather stay right here in this room,” he answered wrapping one arm around her back, pulling her flush against his chest. Felicity swatted his chest and giggled as he leaned down, pressing a kiss against her lips. She sighed and pressed back into him. Before he could deepen it she was pulling away.

“Go finish getting dressed. We are going to be late,” she pushed on him and ducked out under his arm.

“Alright, but for the record I’m saying staying here would be a better option,” he slowly buttoned his shirt watching as she returned to the vanity, pulling another tube from the pouch.

“Yeah, well you invited me remember?”

“True, do you know where my tie is?”

“On the far side of the bed, probably on the floor,” she offered, eyes locked on the mirror in front of her. He watched as she used a brush on her eyelashes, they looked thicker and longer with each pass. He felt himself stuck as he watched. He had observed Laurel get ready a million times and never had he found it arousing. Felicity raised one eyebrow when she caught him still staring at her in the mirror. “Your tie?”

“Slave driver,” he mumbled, walking away toward where she’d said his tie could be.

“I heard that. Sorry it may be slightly crinkled,” she apologized.

“Don’t worry about it, it’ll probably be fine,” he said, but changed his mind when he realized she was right about it being crinkled.

Oliver slipped it around his neck anyways, he didn’t care about the wrinkles. He remembered he had a spare in his car, having picked up his dry cleaning on the way to work that morning. He tucked his shirt into his pants, buttoned and fastened his belt before pulling on his jacket from the bed. By the time he’d made it back over to where Felicity was standing she’d slipped her glasses on and stepped into impossibly high stilettos.

“How in the world do you wear those things?” he asked, his hand going to the middle of her back as she picked up her clutch off the counter.

“I had training, from my mother, besides they help me gain some height on you,” she said as he held the door open for her. She stepped out into the hall and he followed pulling the door closed behind him.

“I’m not complaining, they make your legs look amazing, they also make me wish yet again that we weren’t on our way to meet my parents,” he commented as they made their way to the elevator. “I hope you’re ready for this.”

“Oliver, how bad could it be? They are your parents, and you’re wonderful,” she went to her tiptoes, despite the height the shoes added she was still barely to his chin, and kissed the corner of his mouth before stepping onto the elevator.

“I hope you’re right,” he murmured as he pressed the first floor button, the doors slid shut. Oliver said a silent prayer that his father wouldn’t be too judgemental. They’d parted earlier on good terms and he hoped that nothing had changed since then. Even still anxiety took up residence in his chest.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Arriving at Table Salt reminded him how much he hated being part of the Starling City Elite. It was Friday night and all the crews appeared to be out. Oliver had been too distracted by Felicity being in his car that he’d taken them straight to the front entrance. The valet had started helping her out of the car before he could get out on his side. The vultures started shouting questions the moment Oliver was visible. Felicity stood on the curb as he joined her, wrapping his arm around her waist, his other hand held out trying to block the many flashes from the cameras.

They shouted questions about who Felicity was, demanding a name, was she the reason he and Laurel had broken up; or had Laurel been having an affair with Tommy Merlin, was there bad blood between them now. The questions, were shouted from all directions. One question about Felicity being his new toy sent his anger spiralling out of control. He’ grabbed the cameraman who’d asked it and shoved him. Felicity tightened her grip on him and pulled him into the restaurant.

Oliver’s parents were already at their table, both stood as they approached. Moira’s face filled with concern as Oliver explained the situation outside.

“Felicity, dear, I’m so sorry you had to come through that,” his mother consoled. Patting Felicity on her hand as they sat down.

“I’m alright, really,” Felicity said, eyeing Oliver. Oliver looked away, feeling the anger still simmering below the surface. “I’m just amazed that you all have to deal with that all the time.”

“Son, I thought you were beyond pushing random reporters around,” his father had scolded. The disappointment very clearly impressed in the way his father looked at him.

Oliver sat rigid in his chair, resisting the urge to glare and lash out at his father. He wasn’t going to apologize. “If they won’t change their tactics on how they get their information then I will continue to protect those who are important to me,” he’d answered through gritted teeth, Felicity’s hand slipped over his where it lay fisted on his thigh. Her thumb rubbed back and forth across his knuckles. The small gesture going a long way to try to calm him. He appreciated her more than he could have expressed at the moment so he just turned his hand over, unfurling his fingers below her palm until they could lace together.

“I think we will have to make use of the side entrance when it’s time to leave,” his mother murmured, raising her hand to call over the waiter. They definitely wouldn't leave through the front. “Let’s order some wine, shall we?”

The waiters arrival effectively shifted their conversation to other things.

Oliver quietly watched as Felicity answered questions from his mother. He loved watching the way the two interacted. The way they laughed over something Felicity said. He was surprised by how open his mother responded with her own quick wit. He rarely got to see that side of her with other people. She reserved it mainly for those closest to her.

Oliver glanced at his father who had remained mostly quiet. Oliver could almost hear the gears turning, he wasn’t sure if he should be worried about it or not. Their food arriving caused a lull in the conversation, only until his father decided to it was time to ask a few of his own questions.

“So Felicity, how does a girl of your means and background afford to go to MIT?” his father asked, breaking his silence since the reprimand over Oliver’s behavior toward the cameraman. He took a bite of the fish he’d chosen for dinner. Acting as if the question was the most natural thing to ask.

“Father?” Oliver gritted out, feeling the question somewhat backhanded, his anger from before making a prickly reappearance. Moira must have been thinking the same thing as she too bit out a reprimanding, “Robert!”

“No, it’s okay,” Felicity turned to smile at Oliver, she patted his hand. Oliver made motions to protest, his mouthing opening when she shook her head. “Really, it’s okay.” She turned to make eye contact with his father. “It’s a fair question, it’s not everyday that a cocktail waitress’ daughter gets to have a top notch education. You see, my mother worked very hard to make sure I had everything I needed, she worked three jobs actually. She did it so I could go to a private school with a more advanced curriculum to keep me interested. I applied for and earned as many scholarships as I could in order to go to MIT. Anything not covered by her or scholarships, I managed to cover by working small jobs.”

Robert hummed, then shifted to cut another bite of food before leveling his gaze once again on Felicity. “I read that you graduated with honors, but it was delayed due to a misconduct hearing the year before. I’d love to know what kind of misconduct was involved.”

Felicity stiffened in her seat, the fork she’d been raising to her mouth stopped in mid air. Moira coughed on a sip of wine and Oliver’s fork clattered to the table.

“Dad!” Oliver growled low in warning. He didn’t care at all for the line of questioning. But he knew he couldn’t do too much about it being as they were in a very public and packed restaurant.

Felicity’s eyes cut over to him again and a small shake of her head made him come up short. She set the fork down on her plate carefully. “Mr. Queen, if you read up on me, you'll know what the hearing was for. You would also know that I was absolved of any and all blame in what happened.”

“Yes, I do. Very convenient for you, that Mr. Seldon confessed. They still gave you your degree but now, according to your resume, you aren’t even using it. Seems to me that all that schooling and money went to waste. Instead you’re a flight attendant, who somehow owns a home in New York, by herself. Generally a flight attendant doesn’t have that kind of capital. It makes me wonder if you are still working small side jobs, and what exactly those could be.”

Oliver bit the inside of his cheek, his fist clenched so tightly in his lap that his nails bit into his palm. The thinly veiled accusation his father just dished out made him see red. He didn’t need the words from his father’s mouth to know he was accusing Felicity of doing unlawful things and getting away with it. Robert had done his own digging into Felicity’s past. Something Oliver had decided he himself wouldn’t do. Choosing to believe Felicity would open up and discuss things with him when the time was right. They were still too new to cover everything. Here his father was thrusting everything out into the open, or whatever perverted version of the truth he’d been able to dig up on the internet. Before he had time to confront his father Felicity was already responding.

“With all due respect Mr. Queen, they didn’t give me my degree, I earned it by busting my ass every day. Mr Seldon only owned up to what he did because he had other things to hide. I’d had no hand in what happened beyond writing the code. As far as owning a home in New York on a flight attendant salary, well I don’t feel I have to answer to you about that. All I will say is that I’ve been very smart with my money, I learned that from my mother. I also learned not to trust people who don’t have respect for their fellow human beings,” she answered, her voice firm as she looked his father in the eyes.

Oliver found himself falling even more for her. There weren’t many people who went toe to toe with his father. Felicity did it with a grace that astounded him. She never backed down, just stared right at him as if daring him to continue to try to tear her apart. Because Oliver knew without a doubt it was what his father was doing. Trying to find a weak link in her armor. Try to find some reason she was too weak for Oliver. All Oliver could do was admire her strength and make him want to support her. It didn’t change the anger he felt toward his father.

“Miss Smoak, I’m sorry if you’ve felt offended by my questions. I’m just trying to understand who you are,” his father stated, meeting Felicity's cold gaze.

Oliver could sense that his father was trying to pull back, reign in his judgement. But even Oliver could see and feel it was too late. His father had crossed a line tonight. One that he knew he wouldn’t be able to let go of, and neither should Felicity.

“Well, Mr. Queen, I am most assuredly beginning to understand the kind of man you are,” she returned, icy disinterest dripped from her voice. Suddenly, she rose from her seat, both he and his father stood. Years of practiced etiquette demanding it. But both raising for different reasons. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to use the ladies room.”

Oliver locked himself where he stood. Everything in his body wanting to leave and take Felicity with him. Once Felicity was across the room and out of earshot, Oliver turned on his father in a rage, “I cannot believe you just treated her that way.” His shoulders pulled back, anger laced in every word.

“Oliver,” his mother reached for his hand. He pulled his hand away the moment she came into contact with him. Everything that had gone on was wrong. He didn’t want her to just gloss over it and give excuses for his father. Oliver had heard too many of late.

“Son, I’m sorry. I just needed to hear-” Robert started, his tone laced with regret.

“Bullshit!” Oliver seethed his tone low, making a concerted effort to keep his voice down, them standing up had drawn a few eyes. He didn’t need to give them a show. “You can try to defend your actions however you’d like but this was not the time nor the place to dig into her regarding her past! I don’t know what you were trying to prove but I’m done watching you treat her like she’s beneath you!”

“Oliver, sit down,” his father commanded as he himself sat down. Oliver could only glare at the man. “Please, sit. You’re right, it wasn’t the right time or place.”

Oliver sat, only because his mother looked flustered, eyeing the tables around them. “Honestly, I don’t believe it was ever going to be the right time or place. You’ve grossly overstepped your authority! She’s my girlfriend, if there’s things that need to be addressed the two of us should be the ones to discuss it.”

“You should know the person you’re getting involved with!” His father seethed back at him. “These are things that will come up, I can’t have someone who hasn’t been fully vetted getting involved with our company. Whether you want to believe it or not you are a part of this company and what you choose to do or who you choose to be with impacts it and becomes my business!”

“Then I no longer want to be a part of your company,” Oliver lashed out, standing from his chair. His mother’s sudden intake of breath and his father’s shocked expression did nothing to deter his anger. He leaned forward, his hands on the table. “You obviously don’t trust me! So why continue to waste both of our time and energy on something you know you’ll never allow me to have. Mom, I’m sorry for ruining your dinner.”

Oliver turned in time to see Felicity heading back, he grabbed her clutch up from the table and headed toward her. His mother’s protests following him but he was beyond done dealing with his father. Felicity’s eyes widened as she looked up to see him walking toward her.

“Oliver?” she asked, concern evident in her tone.

“We’re leaving,” he stated simply, placing his hand on her lower back and guiding her toward the back entrance of the restaurant.

“But I didn’t get to…” her voice trailed off as their eyes met. He wasn’t sure what she saw but thankfully she nodded and leaned into his side. “Okay.”

Oliver would call later and apologize to his mother. He'd talk to Tommy about moving the barbecue Sunday to his townhouse. He wasn’t sure how he’d mend things with his father but as of this moment he didn’t care. They waited silently as the valet went to retrieve his car.

Once in the car and heading toward the hotel, he finally let himself relax. He looked over at Felicity who sat staring out the window. The silence between them heavy and he hated it. “I’m very sorry for the way my father treated you Felicity.”

Felicity let out a sigh, “Oliver, it’s not your job to apologize for him.”

“I know, but it's my fault that he’s acting that way.”

“No, it’s not."

Oliver didn't want to thoroughly ruin their evening so he let the argument go. He thought of the unfinished dinner they just left. "Are you still hungry?"

Felicity sighed and shook her head. “No, not really, not after that.”

Oliver nodded in silent agreement, his own appetite missing. He pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, parking close to the same entrance he’d used earlier. He cut the engine off and they sat there in the silence.

Felicity removed her belt and turned toward him. “Oliver, what happened after I stepped away from the table? Why did we have to leave?”

Oliver looked out the windshield, staring unseeing at the building in front of him. His words to his father playing again through his mind. He couldn't remember a time he'd ever been so furious. Telling his father he didn't want to be a part of the company had been done in the heat of the moment. But now that the words were out in the open he found he didn’t regret them. “I think I just quit my job.”

“Oh Oliver,” Felicity breathed out, reaching over to grasp his hand. “You didn’t!”

“I did. I’ll have to write an actual resignation letter but I think I’m done working under my father,” Oliver replied, some of the anger seeping back in making his head hurt. He groaned and rubbed his hand over his face before turning to look at her. “I couldn’t listen to another word he said. Not one more word about how my actions impact the company. He made it sound like you were being interviewed to be my partner or wife. It was all wrong, he doesn’t get to have a say in who I ultimately choose for myself. He doesn’t get to judge you!”

Felicity closed her eyes and sighed, she opened them again and tilted her head. She was searching his face and he just stared back at her. “Are you sure about this?”

“Completely,” He answered honestly, the truth of the words making his heart race. A relief he hadn’t known in weeks settled over him. Oliver had finally made up his mind. He didn’t know what was going to happen next but he’d figure it out. Especially if he could have Felicity by his side. He smiled for the first time since they’d left the hotel room earlier.

“If you wanted to change your mind I’d understand. Things get said that you don’t really mean when you’re angry. I say stupid things all the time. You’ve been so stressed lately with everything and then I show up early and unannounced! As much as I love you Oliver, and want you with me. I don’t want to see you toss everything away! Not because of me. That’s not something I want for you!” Felicity said in a rush, the words tumbling from her mouth.

Oliver’s heart soared in his chest. He leaned over and kissed her, cutting her off just as she was about to start talking again. His hands slid along the side of her face, thumb brushing over her cheekbone. He wasn't sure if she realized what she'd just said, but she loved him. He slowly pulled back to look in her eyes, a bewildered look on her face. “I love you too, Felicity. That’s why I have to do this!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me! Next chapter should be up next Wednesday. This story is wrapping up... possibly 5 chapters left. Thanks so much for reading! ~ BMG


	10. What's Normal

 

Felicity’s eyes went wide at Oliver's declaration. “I… when… wait!.. what?”

Oliver laughed, leaning in again, pressing his lips to hers and she whimpered. Suddenly she was half in his lap, arms wrapped around his shoulders. She pressed her lips harder to his before sucking his bottom lip between hers.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered.” Oliver murmured once she’d let go of his lip. She breathed out a huff and buried her face against his neck.

Oliver hugged her close, his face buried in the juncture between her neck and shoulder. He breathed in deeply. His heart near full to bursting. It was amazing how everything he’d known to be normal in his life was now tipped sideways, dumped haphazardly and yet he felt steady and sure.

“I didn’t want to say it that way,” she whispered, her breath warm against his shoulder, “I imagined telling you I loved you in a much different way than that.”

“Well I thought it was perfect,” he breathed, pulling back, he moved his hand up her spine.

He watched as her smile softened and her eyes drift closed, biting her lip,  she let out the smallest sexiest moan as his fingers ghosted up the back of her neck, the hair from her ponytail brushing against his fingers. He wanted her so badly in that moment, but they were sitting in the car outside of the hotel. As if to remind him of that fact a bright light filled the cabin of his car as another pulled into the spot next to them. He was about to mention it when she spoke first.

“We should talk,” Felicity whispered, moving back into her seat. She adjusted her dress, tugging the material down to cover more of her legs.

"Talk about what?" Oliver asked, trying to shift away from the idea of getting her upstairs where they could do things that didn’t involve talking.

"About what your father started tonight. About my past. We should talk about why he thought it was important enough to bring up how I afford to live where I do," she replied fidgeting with the edge of her dress. “There’s still things about me that you should know.”

"I don't feel we need to talk about what my father brought up Felicity, he never should have dug up that info on you.” Oliver’s head starting to hurt over renewed anger toward his father. He watched as Felicity looked away out the window then back at him. She sat straighter. “He had seriously overstepped his boundaries as my father and boss.”

“Oliver, I think we do need to talk about it. So that it’s out in the open between us. The social media could potentially dig up more than your father did and I don’t want you to be blindsided. I really want you to know the truth about all of it,” Felicity stated firmly.

Oliver hated that she felt the need to spill everything. He hated that his father had been the one to force it. None of it would change his mind on how he felt about her.

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to tell me anything. It should be discussed because you want to. I don’t give two shits what other people think about our lives,” Oliver answered honestly. He reached across the center console and pulled his hand into his lap. He trusted her to tell him about things when it was important. Right now he wanted to live in the moment, a moment where they had both just shared that they loved each other. He wanted to forget about the disastrous dinner they’d just left.

“Felicity, I care about and love you, for who you are now, the person I am getting to know now. How you got here isn’t all that important to me, it isn’t going to change how I feel about you. So for right now can we just pretend that that disaster of a dinner didn’t happen? Can we go inside and enjoy being together since we just confessed we love each other and I can think of at least a dozen other things we could be doing other than talking,” He finished with a small smile, his heart lightened when she returned it with a soft smile of her own. He tugged her toward him, she came willingly. Oliver reached forward with his free hand and caressed the side of her face. Her skin so soft under his fingers. Her eyes fluttered shut briefly before reopening and searching for his.

“Okay, Oliver,” she conceded before pressing her lips to his. He hummed against her and she giggled and pulled away just as he started to open his lips. Her stomach growled loud and her eyes went wide. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry.”

“I guess you are hungry,” he pointed out, Felicity bit her lip and nodded her head.

“I guess so,” she fidgeted in her seat.

Oliver sighed, so much for going inside. His own stomach gave a small grumble, reminding him he hadn’t finished his meal either. “I know of a place. How about we go get a couple burgers.”

“Sounds good to me.”

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver let himself into the darkened Queen mansion, just after midnight.

He and Felicity had spent longer than he planned at Big Belly Burger, they closed the place down. They steered clear of the talk she’d wanted to have, instead talked about where she’d been recently. What they wanted to do while she was in town. Talked about her concerns with meeting his friends, hoping they had a more positive reaction to her. They enjoyed their burgers, fries and milkshakes. Felicity agreed that the burgers were some of the best she’d tasted. On the way back to the hotel he realized he really needed to run home and get a change of clothes. Felicity insisted he do that while she took a shower. He reluctantly agreed, kissing her briefly before leaving her at her room with the promise to return shortly.

Oliver was soon greeted by the clicking of claws on the hardwood of the foyer floor. Tanner greeted him with licks to his hand as he rubbed over his dog’s head and itched behind his ears. The yellow lab’s tail swung hitting the table in the middle of the foyer. “Tanner, buddy, you should be sleeping.”

Oliver turned to head up the stairs, Tanner close on his heels. He made his way toward his room, turning on a lamp near his desk. He needed to put together a duffle bag if he was going to be staying with Felicity until she went back to New York. He’d need to ask Tommy about crashing in his spare room until he finished out his obligation to Queen Consolidated and made the move to New York.

He went into his closet and pulled down his bag. He had just started throwing things inside when Tanner left his side. Signalling someone had come into his room. He said a silent prayer that it wasn’t going to be his mother or his father. Oliver left the closet to find Thea sitting on the floor petting Tanner.

“Hey Speedy, what are you doing up so late?” he asked before heading back into the closet.

“Oh not much, I’d ask you why you’re slinking in so late but then I got to hear mom and dad fight tonight. I figure that was about you,” Thea replied, raising her voice just enough so that he could hear her.

Oliver groaned at the idea of her having to hear his parents fight. He wondered what all she had heard. Here he was a grown adult and still causing problems between his parents. He zipped his bag shut as he moved back out to his room, all he needed to do now was shower and head back to the hotel.

“I kind of got the impression that dinner didn’t go so great,” Thea looked up at him from her spot on the floor, his silly dog’s body half on her lap. Tanner often acted like he was a lap dog, though being a labrador retriever he was much too big for that.

Oliver joined the pair on the floor, near the foot of his bed. “Did they talk to you at all?”

“No, you know them. They keep it just loud enough so I know not to come disturb them, but not enough I can actually hear anything.” She shook her head and leaned down to kiss the dog’s head. “So what happened?”

Oliver sighed, “Nothing good, well, that’s not totally true. Things were going pretty well until everything went to shit."

"I did manage to make out Felicity at one point. Any reason they would be fighting about her? I also heard mom yell at dad about pushing you away?" Thea asked softly, her eyes meeting his.

"Well, Felicity is in town,” he said as Thea gave a little fist bump in the air. Oliver raised his eyebrow and stared at her, she just shrugged and waved her hand in a ‘go on’ motion. “She came in early as a surprise and so I asked mom if she could come along to dinner. I figured they could meet her."

"I bet mom was excited about that, at lunch the other day she’d mentioned wanting to meet her," she said as she grinned at him. She continued to rub Tanner, itching him in just the right spot, making his leg shake. Oliver found himself smiling. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that dad didn’t like Felicity?”

“I have no idea how he actually feels about her. He was quiet through the start of dinner, after he’d reprimanded me for pushing a photographer.”

“Oh Ollie,” Thea sighed and shook her head. She looked so much like their father it made his heart sink. “That’s going to be all the news outlet are going to talk about tomorrow, not a great first impression with Felicity I’m sure.”

“Felicity handled the circus better than I did, of course they’ll make it out to be worse than it was. Anyways, he must have had HR dig up information on her. He started asking all of these questions. Digging into her life. It was horrible, but she was so tough and held her own. When she got up to use the restroom, I confronted dad,” he explained, the fingers on his left hand rubbing nervously together. “He claimed it was because we should be informed about her. For the good of the company, because I obviously can’t make well informed choices on my own. So I told him I didn’t want to be part of the company anymore.”

Oliver watched as Thea’s mouth fell open, her hand stopped where it was brushing over Tanner’s side. “Oh my god, wow, really? So like you quit dad?”

“I’m done Thea. Dad isn’t going to let me handle the expansion project. I know he won’t, because he really wants me here. I realized tonight he was going to go to whatever means necessary to make it happen. Including trying imply horrible accusations about my girlfriend,” Oliver finished angrily.

Thea sat silently, her hand moving over the dog once more. Oliver felt like his nerves were on a live wire. He wished he could understand what was motivating his father. Thea clicked her tongue drawing his attention. He looked up and felt a pinch of sadness.

“This means you’re going to move right? I mean I had pretty much figured you would, but I didn’t… I don’t mean that I don’t want you to be happy, but I just thought it would be later,” she finished on a sigh.

“Yeah we haven’t discussed anything yet. I know I’ll need to give a month notice, I plan to talk to HR on Monday.”

“Wow, you’re really serious about this. What does Felicity think?”

“Well, like I said we haven’t discussed it fully. I know I’m not going to just jump into living with her. I’ll find a place there, get a job. Then see how things go,” Oliver answered, his voice trailing off. He watched as Thea’s shoulders sank. “You do know that no matter what you’re my sister, I love you most and you can come visit whenever you want!”

Thea smiled, reached for him. Oliver pulled her into a hug. “You just opened yourself up to letting me show up on your doorstep whenever, I hope you realize that.”

“Yeah I know, but would that be any different than you showing up in my room after midnight?”

Thea chuckled and pulled back, returning to petting a sleeping Tanner. “I’m actually thinking that since you’re leaving the company that maybe I can be CEO here once dad retires.” He could hear the teasing in Thea’s voice but he thought if either of them would make an excellent CEO it would be Thea over him anyday.

“Well you’re graduating this week, maybe one day you could run the company, I’m pretty sure you could do a better job than me.”

“Well duh, I think we’ve pretty much established that I got all the brains!”

Oliver growled and reached over tickling Thea’s sides. She jumped, waking Tanner who rose up and started licking them both as they laughed. Finally, Thea rolled away and stood up. She straightened her shirt and placed a hand on her hip, looking down at him.

“So when do I get to meet Felicity?”

“Well don’t you already know?” he teased, watching as she stiffened.

“What?”

“I know Thea,” he tried hard to keep his expression stern. Her eyes darted around the room before finally making their way back to his. He lifted an eyebrow and she huffed out an annoyed breath.

“Yeah well so,” she cocked her hip and stared him down.

“It’s not really all that polite to steal information from someone else’s phone without their permission,” he said in mock anger, holding back a laugh that was trying to force its way up at the look on her face.

“Oh come on Ollie, don’t be mad at me!” Thea begged, looking upset over the fact that she had unintentionally made him angry.

He cracked and laughed. “I’m not mad!” Thea stomped her foot and crossed her arms, glaring at him. “Just ask me next time okay?”

“Fine okay, so when do I get to meet her? In person!”

“I was kind of hoping for a barbecue, maybe on Sunday. I don’t know just yet. I originally thought of doing it here but with things being what they are now with dad. I’ll talk to Tommy, maybe we can have it at his place,” Oliver replied, pulling himself up off the floor. Tanner moved over to his bed in the corner and flopped down with a huff, Oliver smiled.

“Well you better still invite mom, and me. I’m looking forward to meeting her in person!” Thea said excitedly, then yawned and stretched. “I’m going to head to bed. I’m glad you came home. Even if it looks like you’re heading back out again.”

“Yeah I’m going to stay with Felicity while she’s in town.”

“Sounds like a safe plan,” Thea stepped forward and threw herself around Oliver. He returned her hug, placing a kiss to the top of her head. Thea squeezed him tighter for a moment, then released him. “I love you big brother.”

“I love you too Thea, best sister any brother could have.”

“Don’t you know it!” She said over her shoulder as she left his room, pulling the door closed behind her.

Oliver looked over where Tanner was lying. His big brown eyes staring at him as he headed toward his bathroom. He’d have to think about whether he was going to bring him with him or not. But that was for another day. The sooner he showered the sooner he could be back in Felicity’s arms.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver shot off a text to Tommy as he was leaving the mansion. It was around one thirty in the morning. But generally Tommy was up late, especially on a Friday night. But to be sure he waited for a reply as he got into his car. The screen lit up:

TMerlyn: Dude get a life Im sleeping  
TMerlyn: besides dont you have a pretty blonde to distract you

Oliver laughed and started up his car. He pushed the button to pair his phone to the car. ‘Call Tommy’ he said clearly into the air around him. A dial tone filled the air and then ringing as he waited for Tommy to answer.

“Dude I thought I told you I was sleeping!” Tommy stated the moment he picked up.

“You can’t sleep and text.”

“I was trying to.”

“But you weren’t asleep yet.”

“Is that Ollie?” He heard Laurel ask in the background as he pulled his car around their circular drive and headed toward the road.

“Yeah, this knuckle head would rather call me than hang out with his pretty little friend,” Tommy replied and Oliver chuckled.

“Dude, how do you even know she’s here?”

“It’s all over the news. She’s pretty you weren’t kidding. Wait hey Laur-”

“Ollie, when is this barbecue you’re having? I want to meet her. She looked so fierce, glaring down that news weasels. What are you doing calling us by the way? Shouldn’t you be… uh well… you know..”

“Laurel, don’t go there. Please spare us all that,” Tommy said as he took the phone back. Laurel said something in the background then started laughing. Oliver shook his head, navigating the highway back toward town. Toward Felicity.

“Anyways,” Oliver said, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, “I have a favor to ask.”

“Whats up?”

“Would you mind hosting the barbecue at your house on Sunday?”

“I can’t, we have a dinner planned with Laurel’s parents on Sunday. It came up after our lunch today. Sorry, I meant to message you and let you know but things came up.”

“Well damn.”

“But how about today? Why can’t you have it at the mansion like planned?”

“My dad and I had a … let’s call it a falling out,” Oliver answered simply as he could. It was too late at night to get into the whole story. Besides he didn’t feel like rehashing it.

“Oh crap man, I’m sorry, when did that happen?”

“It’s a long story. I’d rather not get into it over the phone right now. But that means the mansion is out. So I have to figure something else out.”

“One sec.” He could hear Laurel and Tommy talking in muffled tones before Tommy came back to the line. “We can have it here, how does three o’clock sound? It’s just us, Thea, you, Felicity and a couple others right?”

“Yeah, just a small gathering. I’ll bring some beer and the steaks.”

“Sounds great man, see ya later! Go get some sleep man!”

“Right! Thanks Tommy!”

The call ended and Oliver felt relief at having such a great friend. There were moments when he didn’t feel like he deserved them. But he was grateful nonetheless. He couldn’t wait for Felicity to meet them.

The drive back to the hotel passed quickly. He parked in what was becoming his spot and headed inside. Oliver used his room key to enter the hotel room. All the lights were off except for one next to the bed. A small bit of disappointment settled in his chest as he placed his bag on the floor near the vanity. He wandered toward the bed where he observed Felicity sprawled on her stomach. She wore a t-shirt he thought looked really familiar. She must have kept it from when he was in New York.

A smile tugged at his lips as he kicked his shoes off. As much as he’d wanted to come back and worship he felt the exhaustion from the day settling into his bones. Perhaps she had the right idea falling asleep looked very inviting, especially if he could do it next to her. He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it at the foot of the bed, he made quick work of removing his jeans and stepped out of them. He kneeled on the bed and started to crawl up next to her, just as he reached her she rolled over under him.

“About time you got back,” she breathed, arms snaking up around his neck and pulling him down toward her even as she lifted up to meet him. A flair of arousal spiked through his blood as she pressed her lips to his. All thoughts of sleep leaving his mind as she moaned softly into the kiss. Her lips parted and her tongue darted out to taste his lips.

On a groan he opened his mouth to her, their tongues tangling together. He lowered himself down in between her legs as she wrapped them around him. He pulled his lips back moving down over her chin, pressing his hips into her heated center, the absence of panties making him harden instantly against her in his underwear. “Sorry I took so long.”

Felicity hummed and pressed her hips up to meet him, wrapping her legs around him tighter, hands wandering down his back just as his lips started to explore her jaw and the expanse of her neck. One hand slid under the waistband and the other left his body.  He kissed along her jaw down to her neck, his own hands moving to find the edge of the shirt she was wearing. He pulled up onto his knees, grabbing the edge of the shirt. She sat up, eyes locked on his as and raised her arms.

Oliver tossed the shirt behind him before leaning forward to claim her lips again as they lowered back down to the bed. He heard the crinkle of a wrapper, then she was helping divest him of his underwear. She pulled him close, their kisses growing more needy and breathless. He left her mouth as she grasped him and he groaned into her skin as she stroked him twice moving the condom down his shaft. She attacked his mouth drawing him in instantly.

It was slow and measured, Oliver lived for every gasp he could draw from her, their skin flushed red and wet with sweat before she came apart under him. His name on her lips. Being so wound tight he followed her over the edge, panting into her shoulder. He rolled pulling her with him.

“I love you,” she whispered between breaths, before kissing his chest. She propped herself up on his chest and looked down at him. He closed his eyes and pulled her tighter against him as he tried to level out his breathing. She laid her head down on his chest, hands rubbing slowly over his skin. He traced her spine with his hand lazily.

With a deep sigh he opened his eyes, she once again lifted her head to find his eyes, he matched her smile with one of his own. “Is that how you envisioned saying it to me the first time?”

“Something more along those lines for sure, not mid ramble for sure,” she said with a small breathy chuckle. He reached for her and kissed her softly on the lips.

“I love you too Felicity,” he breathed, kissing her again before pulling back. Her eyes closed and her head dipped as she yawned against his chest. Feeling every bit of the same exhaustion he yawned in return.

“Here, shift a little,” she did as he asked and he slid out from under her. “I’ll be right back.” She nodded her head in He slid off the side of the bed and went into the bathroom to clean up. He came back and she was already under the blankets, head resting on a pillow, eyes closed. He slid in next to her and she instantly curled into his side. He reached over and turned off the one lamp that was still lit. On a sigh, he felt her weight increase as she fell asleep.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Felicity fidgeted in the seat next to him. They had just had a wonderfully lazy morning, eating breakfast and discussing the day ahead. She hadn’t shown any anxiety over the coming barbecue and he thought that was a good sign.

But now that they’d finished shopping and were loaded into the car and heading to Tommy’s he could feel the tension rolling off of her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he stopped at a red light, looking in her direction she was biting her lip, fingers twisted together in her lap.

“Oh…. uh nothing,” she stuttered out, turning to give him a quick smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Oh come on Felicity, you’re about to worry your fingers into knots. I can tell something is wrong, what’s going on?”

“What if they don’t like me? I know I’ve been talking to Thea, and she seems to like me but meeting face to face can be so different. What is Laurel going to think? She’s going to be there and she’s your ex and your mom, I mean last nights dinner was a mess and a half and what if she’ll look at me differently because I stood up to your father-”

Oliver reached over and placed two fingers to her lips. “It’ll be okay, breathe.”

Felicity nodded, taking in a few slow breaths. “I’m nervous.”

“Yeah, I got that,” he said as he pulled away from the stop as the light turned green. “Really they are going to love you. Mom sounded really happy that I invited her despite what happened last night, and Thea, well she is really too excited to meet you. It’ll be good I promise.”

Felicity seemed to relax some in the seat next to him. He sent up a prayer that it went smoothly. He didn’t think he could handle another event like dinner last night. Moments later they pulled in front of Tommy’s townhome. His ‘bachelor pad’ as Tommy liked to call it.

“You ready?” he turned to look at Felicity. She closed her eyes drew in a breath and blew it out.

Felicity turned toward him, a bright smile lighting up her face, definitely reaching her eyes this time, and nodded. There’s the Felicity he’d fallen in love with. The one that didn’t let anything get to her. “Let’s go meet your family and friends.”

He hopped out of the car and came around to open her door. He held his hand to her as she got out, then retrieved the bags of food and a case of beer from the trunk of his car.

They made it to the front porch just as the door flung open. Tommy standing with Laurel by his side.

“Well hello! Nice to see you can’t be on time to anything, even a barbecue you threw together and dropped onto my lap on short notice!” Tommy said and Laurel hip checked him as she stepped onto the landing.

“Ignore him! You must be Felicity, hi, I’m Laurel,” Laurel reached a hand out toward Felicity, which she took with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you Laurel, and I assume that joker over there is Tommy,” Felicity answered, letting go of Laurel’s hand to hold her hand out to Tommy. Oliver chuckled, and grinned at his best friend who winked back at him.

“Ooh I like her,” Tommy said reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze before pulling her forward to place a kiss on her hand. Laurel shook her head as Felicity blushed, pulling her hand back with an uneasy chuckle. “I am the one and only Tommy Merlin. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Felicity. Now lets go burn some steaks!”

He took several of the bags from Oliver and disappeared back into the house.

“Welcome to our home, Felicity,” Laurel offered holding the door open for the two of them.

Seeing the welcoming way his friends greeted her helped any tension that Oliver had over the meeting melt away. He knew he didn’t need to worry about those two. He was excited to see how she fit in with everyone else.

 ****  



	11. Easy Like Sunday Morning

Oliver watched as Felicity laughed at something Laurel pointed at. Laurel was showing her pictures of their past while they sat on a lounge chair in Tommy’s backyard. It amazed him at how quickly the two seemed to get along. There had been very little awkwardness. He hoped that it meant that they could be friends.

They were just waiting for his mother and Thea to arrive. So while the girls chatted and flipped through pictures he and Tommy manned the grill. Which really amounted to them drinking beer and watching the charcoal burn; waiting for it to reach the point where they could start cooking. So it was easy to just stand, sip beer and watch his girlfriend smile at old pictures of him and his friends.

“You know, I’ll be honest I thought you were blowing smoke at lunch yesterday. That you were just suffering from a new infatuation, but she’s really something,” Tommy said as he opened a second bottle of beer.

They had been there for an hour, getting things prepped inside. The girls had put together a large salad while the guys prepped meat and various vegetables to go on the grill. The conversations ranged from the dissasterous dinner, their childhoods, and sports; apparently Felicity had a lot of passion reserved for the Red Sox. Oliver loved finding out new things about her  that he hadn't thought to ask about.

“She really is,” Oliver agreed. “I’m glad you guys were able to do this today. It’s nice having you all meet Felicity, makes it feel real somehow.”

“I’m glad you met someone who really does make you happy. You’re like a totally different man. No offense bro, but you were on autopilot,” Tommy stated as he turned over the charcoal. He had to agree with him there, but in a lot of ways all three of them were. Now that they weren’t it felt like life was brighter.

“I could say the same of you. Amazing what a month of change can do. Laurel moved in, huh? What happened to this being your bachelor pad forever?” Oliver asked with a chuckle, his eyes wandered once again to where Felicity was sitting. Laurel had moved on to a stack of magazines. Felicity looked up, blue eyes meeting his for just a moment. She winked before returning her attention back to the magazine Laurel had opened.

“Life changes I guess. She’s basically moved in. There’s only two months left on the lease for the apartment that you two shared but she didn't feel comfortable staying there anymore. She was staying every night anyway so it was just natural for her to move in,”  Tommy explained with a shrug.

Oliver nodded in understanding, he'd been the one to payoff the lease as an apology to Laurel. He’d even promised that if she wanted to stay longer he’d help make that happen. She'd been appreciative but hadn't been sure at the time if she would stay or find something else. He was happy that she'd decided to move into Tommy's.

Tommy sighed deeply and went on to finish in a hushed voice, “Actually, we're thinking about getting married in a couple of weeks.”

Oliver looked at his friend in shock. He knew that Tommy loved Laurel, that he’d pined away for her for years, but it had been a month. Oliver was excited about them being engaged but getting married so soon? He looked over at Laurel, wondering if that had been her idea or Tommy's and how she felt about it. Laurel didn't generally make snap decisions. The lawyer part of her brain making her think of every angle before finalizing anything. She could be frustratingly thorough.

“I thought you guys just got engaged, you think it's wise to jump into an early wedding? I mean that doesn’t sound like Laurel at all? You maybe; all impulse and everything but-" he trailed off realizing he had lost his friends interest. He watched as Tommy's gaze was locked on Laurel. Oliver witnessed something so foreign come over his friend. He blinked but it was still there. A softness fell over Tommy's face that he'd never seen before while he stared at his fiancé. "What am I missing? Is everything okay?”

Tommy startled and shook his head and looked back at the grill. “Nothing I can talk about right now.”

Before Oliver could inquire further, hoping that there wasn't something wrong with Laurel, the patio door flew open and his sister and mother came through heading for him and Tommy. Oliver let it go instead and forced a happy smile onto his face to greet Thea and Moira. Oliver would have to nail Tommy down later to find out what was going on with those two. Or maybe even Laurel.

“Thea, Mrs. Q! About time you beauties got here!” Tommy said cheerfully turning to face them.

“Hi guys!!” Thea said excitedly, setting down the fruit salad she was carrying on the table nearby and hugged Tommy. “The party can start now! I’m here!”

"Well of course Speedy, it's never a party without you," Tommy hugged her back. He'd once told Oliver that she felt like the little sister he'd always wanted but never got.

“Thank you Tommy for allowing us to come to your home,” Moira replied as she leaned in and kissed Tommy on the cheek.

Thea pulled out of Tommy's arms and whipped her head around. "Where's Felicity?!"

"Over here," Laurel answered and Thea grinned turning in their direction.

Felicity stood up, setting her wine glass on a table between the two chairs. Oliver, already making his way over to her before Thea could get there, wrapped his arm around Felicity's waist. He tugged her close and kissed her temple. “Get ready!”

Felicity gave a breathy chuckle before pulling away and toward his sister.

“Hi Thea,” Felicity greeted Thea as she approached. His sister threw her arms around Felicity and squeezed. Any other person could have been appalled but Felicity just hugged the younger girl back. Thea pulled back, one of the biggest smiles on her face he’d seen recently. “So nice to meet you, finally.”

“Hi Felicity! Oh my God! Its so great that you’re here, in person! So much prettier than your picture. But goodness, look at you! You’re so short!” Thea blurted out, pretty much eye to eye with Felicity.

“Thea!” Moira admonished, stepping closer to their little group. Laurel laughed as well as Tommy. Felicity bit her lip and Oliver tried hard to keep a straight face.

“What, she is, you are,” Thea said cringing, looking at Felicity, “I just thought you would be taller,” Thea said in a hushed tone, smiling at Felicity. “Sorry.”

Felicity laughed and hugged Thea again. “Don’t be, I am short. But that's what stilettos are for right? It’s so great to finally meet you Thea. You’re just as loud as I thought you would be!”

“Oh god,” Tommy laughed, nearly choking on a sip of beer he’d just taken. Everyone laughed, even Moira chuckled softly. Oliver pressed his lips together and grinned.

Thea just beamed proudly, “Well of course, I’m the youngest one here. I need to be louder than everyone else.”

Thea let go of Felicity and Moira stepped forward, Felicity reached out toward his mother. “I’m so glad you were able to come Mrs. Queen.”

“Please, Felicity, call me Moira. I’m just happy that you haven’t run for the hills yet. It’s great to see you again, dear.” She took Felicity’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I brought some of Raisa’s cookies. I’m a horrible cook and I don’t shop but I didn’t want to come empty handed. I hope they’ll be fine. Thea brought some kind of fruit salad,” she finished looking at Oliver.

“It’s fine mom, I’m glad you could make it,” Oliver said, relieved that his mother had felt comfortable enough to come.

“So stiffs, what do you say we get the meat burning and let the fun begin?” Tommy said, clapping his hands together. Everyone agreed and he headed inside to retrieve the food.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Hours later, while they sat around on the patio furniture, the food long gone. They had exhausted themselves playing badminton, then horseshoes and ping pong, which Felicity was surprisingly good at, so good infact that she’d beaten Thea. Something none of the rest of them could do. It wasn’t long before the light had started to fade from the sky. The afternoon having been some of the best fun he’d had in a while.

They had moved on to sharing stories or about whatever random thing came up. Oliver watched his mother where she sat on a lounger, a glass of wine in one hand. It was the most dressed down he’d seen her outside of the house in years, it was wonderful to see her that way. Her eyes sparkled while she told stories about him and Tommy. Long ago he’d stopped being embarrassed by those memories. Mostly he remembered a happy childhood and it was good to hear that validated by his mom.

“One year, the Merlyns and Queens went to Hawaii, this was before you were born Thea. Rebecca and I sat in the seats ahead of Tommy and Oliver, and their fathers sat behind. We shouldn’t have done that, Tommy thought it would be funny to start an arm fart war and Oliver went along with it. The only problem was that there was a man sitting across the aisle that absolutely couldn’t stand the noise,” Moira explained, a smile etched on her face. “So he kept pressing the call button for the attendant and eventually he had to ask the boys to stop. They very nearly got us kicked off the flight and off the following connecting flight. They were so rambunctious. I’m surprised we survived that trip, or any of the many others we attempted for that matter.”

“I don’t envy your job Felicity, not at all. I can’t imagine having to deal with bratty kids on flights! I had a flight one time where the kid behind me kicked the chair for four hours straight. His father just sat snoring beside him, dead to the world,” Laurel said as she sipped her lemonade, she sat between Tommy’s legs on a shared lounge chair.

Felicity was laying on her belly on a blanket in the grass, she looked up at Laurel, running a piece of grass through her fingers. “Sometimes the adults can be just as bad honestly. It’s not the most glamorous part of the job. I don’t know if Oliver told you but there were two boys in the same row as him on the flight that we met on. They were very well behaved. I love when that happens, makes the job easier.”

“That’s because you had put the fear of God in them with your loud voice,” Oliver supplied.

“Loud voice?” Thea asked, looking between him and Felicity. “What’s your loud voice?”

Felicity blushed. “Well that’s what Oliver calls it when I get really stern and my voice gets a little harder, I guess.”

Thea laughed. “How many times have you had to use it on Ollie?”

Oliver kicked his sister in the chair next to him. Felicity sat up, crossing her legs. “I haven’t.” She said quickly and Thea mouthed ‘Not yet’. “I’ve had to use it a lot on flights though. People don’t like to listen sometimes even though it's the law.”

“What made you want to become a flight attendant?” Tommy asked. “You mentioned a degree in Cyber Security earlier. That’s quite the leap.”

“Honestly, I wanted to see the world. So I’ve done that, it’s been a lot of fun, alot of crazy hours. But I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I’ve hit most of the places on my ‘places to visit before I kick the bucket’ list, not many people my age can say that,” she answered with a smile, her eyes meeting his. Oliver wouldn’t change her being a flight attendant either. He would have never met her had she decided to go into IT where her degree was. He winked at her and she blushed, looking away.

“Is it true what they say about crash pads?” Laurel asked, her brows furrowing. Oliver looked over at Laurel. What was a crash pad?

“What’s a crash pad?” Thea asked before he could verbalize it. Everyone’s eyes locked on Felicity.

“Well a crash pad is where us attendants, sometimes even pilots, sleep in between flights. Especially if we aren’t in our home state. Basically its an apartment the airline rents out, they can be pretty cramped, the bedrooms have bunk beds, sometimes triple decker to fit more people. They aren’t the greatest but it’s a bed to sleep in you know,” she fiddled with the edge of her shirt as she finished.

“I read that there is some pretty shady stuff that goes on in those sometimes,” Laurel added.

Felicity shifted, “Sometimes there are bugs, or close calls with other attendants but I think a lot of it gets over sensationalized.”

Oliver hadn’t put too much thought into where she stayed when she wasn’t actually at home. Sure a couple of the times she’d called he’d been able to hear noise in the background, but he hadn’t thought too much about it. He was generally just so happy to be talking to her, that he didn’t think about where she’d be sleeping.

Felicity went on to explain that sometimes as many as ten attendants would share at a time. This didn’t settle well with him. He knew that not all attendants were women and it made him think about her comment about close calls. What exactly was a close call? Did some of the men get handsy? What all went on other than sleep in the crash pads? His mind reeled with all the questions he wanted to ask.

“So are you staying in one now?” Thea inquired, sitting forward now on her chair.

“Oh no, I’m splurging on an actual hotel room this time. There’s no ‘friends’ allowed in the crash pad here in Starling,” she’d actually used air quotes. “Not that I would bring Oliver there anyways. Or that he’s been to my room. Not that it would matter, or that you need any of that information at all, ugh. I really need a filter.”

Oliver chuckled watching as a she ducked her head, covering her face with her hands. Embarrassed that her ramble had taken on a life of it’s own. Thea giggled and Laurel smiled wide, biting her bottom lip. Oliver sobered thinking of how different their meeting could have gone had he met her at a crash pad. It could have been very bad, or really interesting if they had had to be quiet.

“What exactly do you mean by splurging dear?” Moira asked, looking slightly concerned, eyes darting over to his when he looked at his mother. That was a good question. His eyes darted back to Felicity and she pulled her hands away from her face.

“Oh well, the crash pad is free, to help us out since if you aren’t flying you aren’t making money. We are only paid while we are actually in the air. Anyways, staying at a hotel instead is a cost but I’d prepared and it’s a special occasion. I don’t do it often,” she finished with a smile.

Oliver felt a bit of annoyance roll up his spine. Why hadn’t she told him about that? He would gladly pay for her stay. Of course if things were different with his dad he’d just invite her to stay at the mansion. Moira’s eyes met his with a raised brow. He felt that she may have been thinking along the same lines.

“Have you made a lot of friends? You know besides meeting my brother.” Thea said with a chuckle. “I bet you’ve met a lot of famous people! That could be pretty cool!”

“I’ve made quite a few friends over the years, met some really nice people and some not so nice people. It’s been an interesting job for sure,” Felicity said, standing up and stretching.

“Do you ever think you’ll leave that job?” Laurel asked, also rising from the chair, she patted Tommy on the leg as she moved. He grinned at her, then pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“I don’t know, probably someday. I mean it’s not exactly the most stable job, I’m just not ready to give it up yet, I guess,” her eyes met Oliver’s and she bit her lip. He felt a bit of hope grow in his chest that maybe he’d be reason enough for her to leave that job someday. Once they figured out things of course.

“I can understand that. If anyone understands how challenging it is to make changes it would be me, Oliver too. But at least you have your degree to fall back on when you’re ready,” Laurel leaned and kissed Tommy on the forehead. “Cyber security is becoming a much bigger problem everyday. We just had a data breach a week ago on our system. But anyways, having a back-up plan is important!”

“Yep, exactly.”

“I’m going to use the bathroom, I’ll be right back,” Laurel announced as she headed toward the door. “I’ll bring dessert when I come back out.”

“Oh I’ll help,” Felicity said, following Laurel toward the house.

“Sounds great! I’ll help too,” Thea joined in enthusiastically, hopping up off her chair to join them.

Oliver watched as they all disappeared into the house. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn in his mother’s direction. She was slowly getting out of her chair, she picked up her purse and pulled it onto her shoulder.

“Mom, heading home?” he asked and she nodded then smiled at him. “Do you need a ride?”

“I’ve already messaged my driver, so no. I think its time I headed back that way check on your father. I left him in his office, he was pouting about not being invited,” she said with a shrug, then patted him on the shoulder. If his mother was trying to guilt trip him it wasn’t going to work. “But don’t you worry about that. He needs to know when he’s overstepped, and he more than did that with Felicity.”

“I wish I understood him mom, I’ve done everything I can think of to make him proud of me,” Oliver said as he ran his hand over his face. He stood, and followed her across the grass.

“I thought I understood him, but that display last night was one of the worst things I have ever witnessed from him. Oliver he is proud of you, even if he has a really bad way of showing it lately,” Moira shook her head and sighed, she reached out and placed a hand on his cheek. “Try not to worry yourself too much about it. You leaving the company will be a wake up call to him. He can’t keep dictating how your life should go. I do hope that you will bring Felicity by the mansion before she has to leave Starling. Despite what happened at dinner I do think your dad likes her spirit. It would give him a chance to apologize the right way.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I will ask her about it tonight. Thanks so much for coming today. It was fun to see you so relaxed and laid back,” he lead her through the house toward the front door.

“I had the best time,” she leaned in kissed Oliver on the cheek. “Tell everyone I said goodnight, would you mind bringing Thea home?”

“Not at all, love you mom,” he replied, wrapping his arms around his mother and hugged her close.

“Love you too, my beautiful boy! Goodnight,” she whispered before stepping out of his arms. He watched her walk down the steps and out to where the family town car had come to a stop. She waved at him before getting in the car. He became aware of someone beside him just before Felicity leaned into his side. She just lowered her arm when he turned to look at her. Oliver closed the door after he watched the car pull away. Felicity turned and leaned against the it, tipping her head back to look up at him.

“I hope nothing bad happened?” She asked worrying her lip with her teeth. Oliver snaked his arm around her back, pulling her toward him.

His eyes locked on her biting her lip. It was the first time since they’d arrived that he’d been able to get her alone all to himself. He reached up and pulled her lip out from between her teeth, smoothing his thumb over her plump lip. “Nope nothing happened, she just had to head home. I think she enjoyed herself though,” he finished with a grin.

“Well that’s good, I’m just glad that it went better than dinner last night,” she stated, blinking as she licked her lip. He leaned down toward her, feeling the need to kiss her. It felt like it had been too long.

Felicity met him halfway, and pressed her lips eagerly to his. He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her flush against his own body. He suddenly wished that they could leave. Hadn’t they spent enough time here today? He pulled back, pressing his forehead against hers. “Are you ready to leave yet?”

She breathed deeply and shook her head. “Is it crazy that I’m not? I really like Tommy and Laurel, your sister, Thea, well she’s amazing even if a poor sport! Are you sure she’s graduating early? I mean I think I’ve witnessed tod-”

Oliver chuckled cutting her ramble off with a kiss, slipping his hands into the back pockets of her jeans gripping her ass, bringing her to her tip toes. He pulled her flush against his body, feeling all of her delicious curves. She moaned softly, lips opening enough to allow his tongue to slip between. She shifted her hips against his. He groaned into the kiss as his body responded. Time to scale this back before he stripped her down right here. He pulled back nipping her lip. “Felicity, you’re not exactly convincing me that we should stay longer.”

“Oh! Sorry,” she breathed, putting some distance between them as she stepped back a few inches. Oliver pouted, giving her butt one more squeeze and she whimpered. The sound doing nothing to help his situation. He pulled her back into another kiss, pushing her against the door with a soft thud.

“Get a room!” Tommy said loudly, startling Oliver, as he came around the corner. Felicity jumped, laughing nervously, and shifted out of Oliver’s arms. He tried to discreetly adjust his growing problem before turning to head in Tommy’s direction, back toward the backyard. “I swear, we leave the two of you alone for more than thirty seconds and you’re climbing each other in my foyer!”

“Oops,” Felicity answered walking toward Tommy, a sassy sway to her hips that had Oliver groaning. Why did she have to do that? “Just think, it could have been worse, I really wanted to drop down onto my knees. Now imagine walking in on that! But I controlled myself, so be glad.”

Tommy and Oliver’s mouths dropped open and she winked at him before slipping through the door to the backyard. His mind stalled, he thought the walk was bad.

“Holy shit Ollie, did she just say what I think she just said?” Tommy asked clearly stunned.

Oliver shook his head, the problem he had moments ago, even more of a problem as he stared after her retreating form.  “I think so.”

“Oh ho, man your girl is awesome!” Tommy stated with a chuckle. “Come get some dessert bro.”

Oliver couldn't have agreed more. Felicity was awesome, except maybe she’d be more so if they could head back to the hotel right now instead. That was the only dessert he wanted, but no he had to stay and play nice for a bit longer.

Oliver headed back out to the backyard where the girls were already digging into the cookies Moira had brought, a big bowl of ice cream for each of them. His eyes met Felicity’s as she licked a glob of ice cream off her spoon. Slowly. Too slowly. She winked, knowing exactly what she was doing to him.

He decided that she may as well have been digging the hole to his grave. He’d go willingly for her though.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've uploaded early because my kiddos go back to school on Wednesday, and tomorrow will be insane. So here it is earlier than normal. Also I've written a bonus. You can find it under my works. I wrote the epilogue for this story today. I can't even believe it. *sigh* Theres three chapters after this before the epilogue. Maybe one more, depending how things go. But looking more like 15 total chapters.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and I'm so grateful for your reading of my story! - BMG


	12. Don't Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much of Today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: Sorry this is late. Life is kicking me down hard right now. I'm not 100% happy with this chapter. It may show, but instead of rewriting it I'm just going to give it to you guys. 13 is started, has been for a while. I really just hated this chapter. Anyways, enjoy and I'll update on time on Wednesday! Much Love - BMG

Oliver woke for the second time that morning to empty arms. His hands reached out across the bed, searching for Felicity, not feeling her weight or warmth. He opened his eyes and sat up. His eyes darted around the room. "Felicity?" he called just as his eyes found her, sitting in one of the arm chairs across the room.

"Oh, hey, you're awake, morning sunshine," Felicity answered, looking up from her laptop, her hair a mess on top of her head, glasses perched low on her nose. She set her tablet to the side on the arm of the chair.

Oliver rubbed his hands over his face, trying to wipe away the last bits of sleep, his eyes found her again and he smiled. "What are you doing all the way over there?"

"Oh nothing really. I didn't want to disturb you, I just had to do a little… some research on something. I can finish later," Felicity closed the laptop, stood up, placing it on the seat she had just vacated and headed for the bed. When she'd turned though he got a glorious view of her ass when she bent over. She was wearing a pair of pale pink panties with white polka dots and a ribbed tank top. He groaned feeling himself twitch in approval. He pressed his eyes closed and reminded himself they had other things to do today. Things that did not include spending the day naked in bed. One of them being visiting the mansion, his mother, and hopefully avoiding his father.

Before she climbed on the bed she turned abruptly with a squeak, and made a beeline for the vanity area. "I almost forgot." She poured two cups of coffee from the coffee maker, and then made her way back over to the bed. "I didn't order food because I wasn't sure when you'd wake up, and I wasn't sure what you would want either. But I did make coffee, not that I have creamer, milk, or sugar other than those little packets they supply, which are gross. Though that doesn't matter at all since you take yours black anyways."

Oliver chuckled, sitting against the headboard and took both mugs from Felicity before she climbed up onto the bed. He watched her settle cross legged close to the foot of the bed. It struck him as odd behavior, she left a lot of space between them. He handed one cup back to her when she reached for it. He studied her over the top of his mug as he took a sip, swallowing slowly.

Instead of sipping from her own mug she began to fidget and rearrange herself again before finally settling herself. She then sipped from her mug and smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes. He hated when that happened. It wasn't often but it always set his own nerves on edge. She was obviously tense and distracted. It also explained her ramble over breakfast and coffee. Felicity always rambled when she was nervous, or excited but in this case he was pretty sure it was nervousness.

Finally he broke the silence, "Felicity, are you okay?"

"Yes, of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be okay? Yesterday was perfect and last night was… wow last night was amazing and earlier this morning was so sweet," she rambled blushing, he reached over and touched her knee, his fingers rubbing over her soft skin. Felicity stopped, closed her eyes and groaned. He placed his hand over hers and when she opened her eyes, he saw fear there. But he didn't understand why.

"Oliver, I lied to you."

Oliver felt himself stiffen as he stared at Felicity, he didn't know how to respond. She bit her lip and he frowned. "Lied? About what?"

Felicity looked away, slipping her hand from his. "About my father. I lied. Well technically I didn't fully lie so thats really not accurate, I more just didn't offer up many details," she met his gaze, his eyebrow lifting as if to question her. "Because I really don't know where he is, that wasn't a lie, and I don't contact him ever. Wouldn't be able to anyways because-"

"Felicity," Oliver touched her knee and she startled. It was too early in the morning, he needed her to calm down if he was going to be able to follow and understand her. He leaned over and sat his coffee on the night stand. "Slow down and breathe."

Felicity nodded and took a breath, she closed her eyes, slowly blowing the breath back out.

"Better?" he asked and she nodded. "Then go on."

"Okay, right… yes. So when I was seven my dad left us. My mom searched and searched but she couldn't find him. I am the one that uncovered that Joseph Bern, my father, never existed," she took a breath pausing. Oliver nodded, indicating to her that she should continue. "Joseph Bern wasn't a real person legally. He'd falsified everything. At that point we changed our last name back to my mom's maiden name and I've been Smoak ever since. Not that thats all that important."

Oliver touched her knee again, he couldn't imagine not knowing who your father was, not only had he left them but he had lied about who he was. "I'm sorry Felicity."

"Its okay really," she said quickly shaking her head, reaching up to brush away a tear. "Sorry, I just…" she closed her eyes and took another small breath, releasing it slowly. "I feel bad for my mom. She still carries all this guilt over what happened, believes that she should have known, that maybe if she'd been smarter and not just some cocktail waitress."

Felicity shook her head and gave him a watery smile. "Anyways, I guess even though he left us, he kept track of us, especially me and my achievements. I received a call the morning after my MIT graduation. I recognized his voice immediately," she looked up into his eyes.

Oliver watched as the hope she must have felt in that moment flashed across her face, reliving the moment. His heart ached as she looked away.

Felicity gripped her coffee cup so hard her knuckles went white, she was looking down into it. She looked a million miles away, Oliver didn't think she was seeing the coffee. "Foolishly for a moment, for just a nanosecond, I thought he was calling to tell me he was sorry. That he had no choice but to leave me and mom, maybe his life was in danger and this had been the only option."Her eyes met his again and his stomach dropped at the pain radiating behind her bright blue eyes. She seemed to shrink even smaller in front of him, closing in on herself. 

"But it was worse. He said he'd known I would be like him, a genius. From the beginning of my life he'd seen an innate talent in me. But he'd had to leave because my mother would never have allowed him to help me hone my skills, she would have asked too many questions and gotten in the way. But he also knew he wouldn't be able to take me from her, so he'd just left to watch from afar. He claimed to have helped pave a few ways for me, making sure the right things happened. He made sure that MIT would take me. He wanted me to come join him the day he called, that he needed someone with my abilities."

Felicity shot off the bed, her coffee cup set on the small coffee table between the chairs, She ran her hands over her face and started pacing. Oliver, just along for the ride, sat and watched, his heart in his throat.

She turned on him, her eyes red with unshed tears, threatening to overflow. "My own father stripped me bare that day. Made me feel like I hadn't done anything on my own. I hadn't earned any of it! It made me so sick. How could I use my degree after that? When I didn't even know if I'd actually earned it, or whether it had been bought for me?"

Oliver thought when his father had tore into Felicity that he'd known anger, but he had been wrong. This man, that he didn't know, had incited anger so violently in him that Oliver didn't realize he was tense until he tasted blood. His teeth biting into the back of his lip, teeth grinding against each other. He took a shallow breath and tried to loosen his jaw. He watched Felicity breath deeply. Sadness etched deep into the lines around her eyes.

How could a father do that to his daughter? How could he make her feel like she hadn't been enough to accomplish her goal on her own?

Oliver had watched Felicity work over a screen full of text that he could never understand. He'd wondered about it at the time and she'd said it was just something she did on the side. A private consultant. People sought her out, just from flyers that one of her MIT professors had left on campus. So none of what her father said was true, it couldn't have been. Felicity had earned that all on her own, with hard work and determination.

"Felicity, tell me you didn't, don't believe that? I've seen you work. Granted not a lot, since we haven't been together that long but come on. You have to know he was just baiting you?" He said, sliding to the edge of the bed, dragging the sheet with him, to catch her as she passed. He gripped her hips, holding her facing him. "He just wanted you to feel little so you'd go to him."

"At the time I believed it, all of it. All I could see was what Cooper had done, that I had been so stupid with that situation, then my father's words to me. I felt weak. My gut reaction wasn't what he expected though. Instead I went home. I sat around there ignoring the fact that I had three highly sought after interviews. It went on until my mom had gotten so worried that she made me go to one of the interviews. Well tried, she bought me airfare to go to New York. I had at one time been excited about the interview, it wasn't the job I ultimately had wanted but it was with a company I really wanted to work with. I could have walked into that interview and walked out hired... But once in New York, I found myself sitting in a coffee shop, you know the one." Oliver nodded, of course he remembered. He squeezed her hip bones and she straddled his lap, arms winding around his shoulders.

"The job would have been an easy IT specialist position to get my feet in the door but instead of going to the interview, I wound up sitting in that coffee shop wondering why I was even there. Caitlin found me that day. She asked me who had killed my puppy." Felicity smiled and Oliver couldn't help but chuckle, he wanted to meet this woman that Felicity often talked about, her mother too. "She didn't know anything about me but helped me find my bearings. I let my mom know I'd be staying in New York for a while. I learned that Caitlin was a flight attendant, she'd been doing it for a year already and was having the time of her life. So I applied. It was the farthest I could get away from my degree. It kept me so busy I didn't have time for computers or coding for a while," Felicity finished with a sigh, Oliver rubbed the exposed skin on her back, just under her tank top.

"So thats how and why you really became a flight attendant. Not just Cooper but because of your dad too. They turned you off what made you happy all together," Oliver said with a shake of his head. She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder after a breath.

"Yes."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, Felicity," He said, sliding his hand up her spine, loving the warmth she radiated into his palm. His own personal sunshine. She sighed contentedly before pulling back to meet his eyes.

"I need to tell you everything though. Your dad was easily able to find things about me that he completely misunderstood. You need to know why he misunderstood them."

Oliver gave a nod, "Okay, go on."

"Did you know that when someone starts out as an attendant you barely make eighteen thousand dollars a year?"

Oliver gaped at her. How could anyone live on so little? To endure what they had to put up with on every flight? "Really? So little?"

"Right? I had had no idea. Cait made it sound so glamorous, and it is in a way. You get to fly all over the world, depending on which airline you work for. Pays squat though. Thankfully Cait let me stay with her when I was in town, her parents had bought her the apartment in New York, so she didn't charge me anything for rent. I just pitched in for food," She said with a sigh.

"I managed to get a regular flight from Vegas to New York and back that first year, so I crashed at my moms in my old bedroom when I was in Vegas overnight. I couldn't afford a hotel, and the crash pad there scared me. Your father must have did some research about the industry I'm in. He must have been so confused on how I could afford to live in New York," Felicity locked her eyes with his, her fingers lacing with his fingers.

"It's really none of his business," Oliver stated firmly. He would never condone what his father did. Checking into a prospective employee is one thing, but Oliver's girlfriend? He had had no right.

"But it is his business. Now listen to me Oliver," she pressed her fingers over his mouth as he made to protest about any of this being his father's business. "After learning who you were, I should have known that being with you I'd have to be more forthcoming with information. Your dad runs a huge company, a multibillion dollar company, part of his job is knowing about potential threats."

"You aren't a threat," Oliver said around her fingers.

"I love that you think that. But I could be. I can hack into just about any system I want, mostly undetected, before I was 12, do you think I lost that ability when I went to MIT? If he did his homework he'd know that. I should have told you sooner. It would have made things easier," Felicity said with a sigh. "I'm not a threat no, but there are things in my past that would or I guess have thrown up some red flags."

"Explain?" Oliver said when she removed her fingers. Intrigued with all the new information, his mind was having a hard time keeping up. He hated to admit that he too wondered why she was still just a flight attendant.

"Well to start, one day about four years ago there was a two million dollar deposit made into my little pissant bank account, from an offshore account."

"What?" Oliver said, feeling his mouth fall open, looking at her in shock.

Felicity pulled out of his lap and stood, she started to pace around the room. "My father. He hadn't been able to sway me to join him back on my graduation, and then I disappeared online. For two years I focused on just my job, flying and learning about every place I went. I'm sure that he tracked my movement but I didn't do anything computer related, I gave it up because of Cooper, because of him."

"But why the money?"

Felicity spun to look at him. "To draw me in. I hate mysteries, always have. Even when I was three. I didn't understand how the TV made pictures so I took it apart. Nevermind that I didn't know or understand how any of it worked I still investigated it! Anyways, He knew I wouldn't have ignored it and he was right. I told the bank to wire it back. They told me they couldn't because the account it came from had been closed down. I asked them who it had belonged too. They weren't able to give that information to me. So for the first time in years I used a computer, I was visiting my mom so I booted up old Elmer-"

"Elmer?" Oliver's eyebrow raised and Felicity stopped in her trek across the room to look at him.

"My computer. Hey, don't look at me like that, you boys name your cars," she leveled him with a look, as if daring him to contradict her. He held his hands up and she smiled. He'd never officially named one of his but he knew his dad had. "Anyhow, it took me three days but I managed to dig up a phone number. I called him and he'd been expecting me. It was the same thing over again, we fought and by the time I hung up I was done. Not only had the money been a way to draw me out, he wanted me to know that he had resources. He doesn't know me too well."

Oliver watched as she continued to pace, biting her nail. All of a sudden his father's questions made a little more sense. Of course he'd see the money transfer and assume she'd done something illegal. Not that it made it right, but he could see how suspicious it could seem. But not everything is black and white though. The way she hovered back and forth across the room, she seemed lighter, having shared some more of the weight of her past.

"So what did you do with the money?" Oliver inquired, he wondered what a person like her would do with that kind of money. Felicity stopped, turned to look at him.

"Well once I dealt with all the red tape that came along with getting all that money. I called MIT and talked to the head of their scholarship committee. I gifted the school one million to put into underprivileged scholarships, insisting on being anonymous. I bought my mom a small house just outside of Las Vegas, so I didn't have to worry about her so much, and when the apartment upstairs from Caitlin's went up for sale, I bought it. I donated the rest to various charities anonymously. I made sure they were ones that would empower women to follow their dreams."

"Ah," Oliver answered, allowing what she'd told him to settle in. Of course she would donate it, and buy her mom a house. Just another thing to love about her. He smiled up at her as she approached. "You didn't want to keep it?"

"No, keepin it would mean letting my father have a hold over me. I'd already allowed him to have too much power by letting him make me doubt myself," Felicity stopped in front of him. Her hands brushed over his stubbled jaw as she held his face and smiled at him. "Do you understand why your father had to ask those questions?"

"Yes, but it doesn't change the fact that there could have been a better time, a better place. Felicity, I'm amazed at all you've done and put up with. Thank you for telling me," Oliver leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

Felicity hummed and allowed him to pull her back down to straddle his lap. He smiled against her lips. He gripped her ass and pulled her solid against his body. She gasped as she felt him, his hands sliding up under the edge of her tank top.

"You don't have to thank me," she breathed pulling her lips from his. "You should have known before it became an issue. So that things wouldn't have gotten so complicated. I never wanted you to doubt who I was."

"Well thanks all the same but I never doubted who you were Felicity. I didn't need to know everything but I'm glad that you told me," Oliver slowly started to slip her tank top up, loving the way she seemed to stretch, skin warm under his fingers as they skimmed over her bare skin. It was wonderful having everything out in the open. He was glad that she was able to lighten her conscience but now he wanted to show her how much her past didn't change how he felt about her.

"Oliver there are still things we should-" Felicity cut off on a squeak as he rolled them so she was pinned beneath him on the bed. He drank the gasp from her lips as his hands brushed upward under her tank top, briefly brushing over her breast, then back over her rib cage. She giggled and shifted breaking her lips away from his as he moved lower down her neck. Need flooded through his veins as his hands smoothed over her skin, down her sides. Her giggles died on her lips as he delved into her cute polka dot panties. He nipped her ear, fingers finally finding what he was looking for. "Now, that's enough talk."

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver opened the door to the mansion for Felicity. He held it open wide as she walked through. Her eyes wide and searching. He was pretty sure she hadn't blinked once since they pulled up the circular drive and the house had come into view.

He had been nervous since they'd left the hotel. Her and his bags in tow. He wasn't sure what the evening would hold, whether she'd let him pay for a different hotel so she could stay longer or if she would actually follow through with her plan to head back home later that evening. A small part of him hoped she would stay.

Oliver was also nervous about how she would feel visiting his home. Felicity had told him over and over again that she was sure she would love it. But it hadn't helped his nerves. Especially when she'd gone silent the moment they turned off the main road onto their driveway.

He watched her turn again, her skirt shifting around her legs, her ponytail swung as she stopped. He watched as a slow grin spread across her face. It wasn't one of her better smiles. What if this was all too much for her?

"Wow, you grew up here?" she asked in awe, his heart stilled some from its rapid pace. A clicking on the wood floor drew his attention away from her as his dog came trotting out from the main living room.

"Yeah, its kind of overwhelming huh?" he replied, greeting Tanner as he trotted forward and licked Oliver's hand.

"It's like a museum," she said, eyes still looking around the foyer. "Smells kind of like a library though."

"And you've only seen the foyer," Oliver chuckled. Of course she'd think it smelled of a library, her second favorite place in the world. He watched as Tanner walked over and sniffed Felicity's jean clad leg, then licked her hand. Felicity jumped and Oliver placed his hand at her back as she teetered on her feet. "Felicity, I'd like you to meet Tanner. Tanner, bud, this is Felicity."

Felicity looked down and giggled. She reached out and ran her hand over his head, down behind his ears where she itched the dog. Tanner's eyes closed and he leaned heavily against her. "Well hello Tanner, it's so nice to finally meet you. Your daddy has told me so much about you!"

Oliver grinned and Tanner's tail swung excitedly, hitting the table with soft thuds. He realized Tanner was looking more silver than yellow. He forced his mind away from how old he was getting.

"He's such good well behaved dog. It's amazing considering Oliver was in charge of raising him. Though he has been acting a bit old and cranky lately."

Oliver's back stiffened and Felicity's hand stopped mid-stroke at the sound of his father's voice. Robert Queen stood just inside the foyer at the doorway to the main living room, a newspaper folded under his arm. He was staring at them, his face neutral.

"He's not the only one who is old and cranky," Felicity quipped in return. Oliver whipped his head to look in her direction, she stood, her eyes closed obviously not intending to say that out loud. She opened her eyes, a blush fanning across her cheeks. "I'm so-"

"You're not wrong," his father's voice was firm in reply, cutting off Felicity's apology.

Oliver's eyes shot to his father as a breathy chuckle left his father. The sound shocking Oliver. Had his father just laughed at himself? Robert shook his head and schooled his features. "Miss Smoak we-"

"Felicity," she corrected interrupting his father, a small smile tugged at her lips.

"Felicity," he amended with a small smile in return, he stepped forward, hand extended, offering it to her to shake. "Welcome to our home."

Felicity reached forward, her hand slipped into Robert's hand. He watched as his father squeezed her fingers briefly then let go.

"It's nice to be here, thank you for inviting me, Mr. Queen," Felicity answered with a short nod of her head, her ponytail bobbing.

"Please, call me Robert, and I didn't invite you, it was Moira's doing. But I am very glad that you came," he said stepping back. "Moira's in the kitchen with Raisa, going over a dinner list, she's waiting for you there. Oliver, will you show Felicity the way and then may I have a talk with you?"

Oliver shook his head to clear it. The exchange between his father and Felicity making his head spin. Was this even the same person who had tore into his girlfriend at dinner? Were we just going to pretend that they hadn't gone toe to toe just the other evening? Oliver couldn't reconcile that person with the man who was standing in front of him. Someone who had laughed at Felicity's witty remark, even if it was aimed at him.

He blinked and drew in a breath. Bottom line was Oliver didn't want to talk with his dad. With the uncertainty of whether Felicity would stay longer looming over him he'd rather show her the house and go do something else. Talking to his father was not something he'd planned for. He had been hoping that his father would have left on a business trip or would still be sulking in his office. He opened his mouth to argue, "Dad, I really-"

"It'll be brief, I promise. Felicity, I hope you enjoy your time here and I'd love to have a discussion with both you and Oliver afterward, if that's alright with you?"

"Of course," she answered, looking in Oliver's direction. Robert gave a nod and started to turn toward the stairs.

"Oliver, I'll be in my study," his father supplied as he started his ascent and disappeared out of sight.

"You okay?" Felicity asked, her hand reaching for his.

"Yeah, I can't believe you said that to him," he answered with a huff, lacing his fingers with hers and tugging her toward the hallway that lead to the kitchen. He was eager to get out of the foyer and put distance between them and the weird exchange. "As if things weren't strained enough."

"It slipped, not like I was planning on it. But it gave me a bit of valuable information," Felicity said as they made the short trek down the hallway.

"What's that?" Oliver asked, coming up short of the kitchen doorway and turned to her.

Felicity leaned in close, raising up on her tip toes to kiss his jaw. "I now know where you got that laugh of yours."

"No way," Oliver gawked at her in horror.

"Oh yes, all breathy and thin when you're kind of shocked, happy. I think it's kind of sexy," Felicity ran her nose along his jaw, her fingers squeezed his.

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't just hear my girlfriend talk about my father in such a way. That man about tore you apart the other night. Now you're best buds?" He stared at her in disbelief.

Felicity's eyebrow raised and she put her free hand on her hip. "First off, I held my own, he was no where close to tearing me apart. Secondly, we aren't best buds. He just took a jab I dished out unplanned. Carrying around a grudge will weigh you down, it's easier to let go. Lastly, I wasn't saying I thought your father was sexy, not that he doesn't look really handsome for a man of his age, but I was more mentioning that when you do it I find it sexy."

Oliver grunted in answer and pushed open the kitchen door, effectively putting an end to the very awkward discussion.

"Felicity!" Thea squeaked excitedly and hopped off the bar stool she was sitting on.

"Hello, Thea," Felicity smiled as Thea pulled her into a hug. "It's good to see you, again so soon."

"Mom said that you were going to visit and so I made an effort to get up and actually dress before dinner today," Thea answered resuming her perch on the stool.

"Good afternoon Felicity," his mother greeted, not looking up from a cookbook Raisa held out to her. "Sorry, there is a dinner this week for Thea's graduation and we are just now planning it."

"That's okay, need any help?" Felicity offered, Oliver leaned against the doorjamb, watching yet again how seamlessly she seemed to meld into their world.

"Sure, a fresh set of eyes would be wonderful. Thea would be helpful if she didn't insist on us just ordering pizza," Moira shook her head as she looked over at his sister. Thea stuck her tongue out.

"You asked me for my opinion on the menu and I said that pizza would be fine," Thea stated with a roll of her shoulder.

"Again, it's not helpful when you know there will be adults who won't want to have pizza," Moira stated firmly, annoyance creeping in around the edges of her voice. Obviously this had been an ongoing argument between his mother and sister.

"Don't you have a talk with your dad?" Felicity asked pulling Oliver's gaze back to her as she perched up on a chair next to Thea.

"Well I could just stay here," he stalled, moving toward her, reaching her and kissing her on the forehead.

"No way, go on, go talk to your dad," Felicity said her voice raising slightly.

"Oooh Ollie, she's breaking out the loud voice!"

"Shut it Speedy!" He reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Get lost Ollie!" Thea pushed at him.

Felicity raised an eyebrow at him. He groaned and backed up, hands raised in surrender. "Fine, I'm going to talk to dad."

"Go easy on him, son. He's had a rough weekend," his mother said as she turned another page in the book. "Raisa, how hard do you think this would be?"

Oliver shook his head as he turned and wandered back out into the hallway. You need to grow up dude, he told himself as he trudged toward the stairs. His father's study was on the third floor, it was more of an attic. He remembered once when he was a kid that his father had said it made him feel like a King. With Queen as a last name you had to learn to be tough. People still teased though. They'd always taught him that no matter how much money you have there may always be someone watching and waiting to bully you.

Oliver remembered the walk to his father's study being longer. Of course now that he was an adult he could cover the distance in a quarter of the time. He knocked on the door, rapping his knuckles against the solid wood.

"Come in," his father's voice carried through the weight of the door.

Oliver pushed open the door and started forward toward a chair. Before he could lower himself into it his father stood from behind his desk and stood in front of the windows overlooking the backyard and gardens. "Does your decision to leave the company still stand?"

Oliver feeling the tension coming from his father opted not to sit. It seemed they were going to go right to the point. Before he told his dad that he was still leaving he figured he'd ask just one more time. "Do you plan to allow me to expand Queen Consolidated east?"

"No," his father answered easily, not once looking in his direction. Oliver's heart sank, then his decision was final as well.

"Then yes, my decision is the same. You were right this talk was brief, thanks for that," Oliver grumbled angrily, turning away and started to head toward the door. He wished he didn't feel like he was being driven out of the company. It was a sudden feeling and it crushed him more than he thought it would. But he'd been taught growing up that nothing came free, it took hard work, he'd seen his father do it, his mother backing him. He wanted Felicity and if it meant having to walk away from this he would.

"Oliver, stay. Listen to me please," his father's voice stopped him before he could exit. Oliver slowly turned around to look at his father. His shoulders were slumped and he looked defeated. Oliver fought every one of his instincts to ask his father what was wrong. He chewed on the inside of his mouth. "I have valid reasons and I'd like you to hear me out."

Oliver moved back into the room and dropped into the chair he'd tried to sit in before. He kept his mouth shut, wondering what his father would say. He leaned back and crossed his foot over his knee.

Robert took a deep breath then turned around. "It would be bad business to expand East at this time. We just got word late last night that one of our subsidiaries in Japan has taken a major hit. We are going to need to funnel some resources there. I can't have my company stretched that much. So the expansion East has to be put on hold."

"Sounds like you found a good reason to turn me down." Oliver answered bitterly. Figures something would happen that would end up giving his father the perfect ammunition to decide against him. He stared past his father wishing this conversation was over.

"Oliver," Robert sighed, gripping the back of his office chair. He pulled it out and sat in it. "Telling you no isn't something I want to do. I know that's not the only reason you're angry with me. I seem to keep making bad decisions and disappointing you lately. I wish you could see the bigger picture. I don't mean to upset you or make you feel like I'm ostracizing you!"

"Not me dad, my girlfriend. I can handle you being disappointed in me, or not having enough faith in me but you ripped into Felicity over her past, in a public place! That goes beyond disappointing me!"

"I know, and I have my apologies to make to her. Some further digging-"

"Save it." Oliver bit out, he slid forward in the chair about to stand. He didn't want to listen to his father explain how he gained more information about Felicity. Felicity had explained enough about her past. Oliver felt ashamed of his father for thinking the worst of someone just because of something he read about them.

Robert stood and slammed his fits on the desk, pulling Oliver up short. "Damn it Oliver, I said that I would apologize to her, and I will. Right now this is about you!"

Oliver slid back and sat in the chair, his father's voice demanding his attention. "Okay."

Robert sighed and pulled back up to his full height, he straightened his shirt before leveling Oliver with his own steely blue eyes. "I knew that my need to take time before making a decision would make you upset. That you would think I thought the worst of you. You're wrong. I've had some time to think about how things happened at that abysmal dinner. About what you said when you left."

Oliver watched as his father pushed his chair back and started to pace behind his desk. He waffled between wondering what his father thought and not giving a shit. It was hard to do the later because he'd put so much energy into the company, it was something he did want on a small base level, but he didn't want it with a bunch of conditions thrown in.

"I think you're making a good decision." Robert stated finally turning back toward Oliver.

Oliver forcibly mashed his teeth together to keep his mouth from falling open. Had he just heard his father right? "What?"

"I think your leaving the company for a time would be good. At first I was upset, I wasn't lying when I said I enjoyed working with you. You're my son and I'm extremely proud of the man you're becoming. I want you working beside me but I think you need to be allowed to have something that you've worked for separately. I had wanted it to be the expansion east but now that thats on hols, I think working for another company would be good for you."

"I…" Oliver started but didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected his father to approve.

"I've called Janice at Cypress. I hope you don't mind. She said that if you were interested to give her a call. They'd be lucky to have you there." Robert rubbed his hand over his face. "I'd rather you work for her than anyone else. Even over Merlyn. I'll talk to the board tomorrow morning first thing about your resignation. We'll have to have a meeting with human resources and hammer out all the details. Since Felicity is in town I expect you not to be at work tomorrow. I'll schedule the meeting with HR for Tuesday and then we'll start looking for your replacement."

"Dad, I … thank you," Oliver finally responded.

"Don't thank me. Just keep doing what you've been doing," Robert came around the desk as Oliver stood. "Look son, I can tell that Felicity means a lot to you. Don't let the way I acted drive a wedge between you and I. Don't think I didn't notice the way you lit up with her around you, and your mother and Thea haven't been able to shut up about her. I'm sorry that I gave such a horrible first impression."

"I'm not the one you have to apologize to," Oliver said as his father stopped in front of him. "But then you know that."

"I do," His father patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, lets go see what our girls are up to."


	13. Acceptance

Oliver and Felicity were finally alone in the kitchen.

His father had followed him down only to end up pulling Moira away moments after they’d gotten to the kitchen, regarding a business matter. Thea having finalized her menu for her graduation dinner was working on talking Felicity into going dress shopping with her. One look at Oliver and Felicity shook her head a final time. Telling Thea that Oliver had promised to give her a tour of the mansion.

“Also, dad wanted to talk to the both of us, so we should be here when he gets done with whatever he and mom are doing,” Oliver added.

Thea gave a shrug and smiled. “There’s always next time,” she said with a wink, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and waved goodbye.

Felicity turned to face him on the stool once they were alone. She smiled up at him, reaching forward to grip the belt loops on his jeans and pulled him forward between her knees. Her skirt slipping further up and exposing the soft skin of her thighs.

“Where’s Raisa?” He wondered aloud, knowing how she could move through the house like a ghost. Seizing the moment they had alone he leaned forward to press a soft kiss against her lips. He pulled back as her lips parted, tongue darting out. He slid his hands up the outside of her thighs, under her skirt and pulled her to the edge to the stool. He pressed his forehead against hers, their noses brushing together. Felicity’s breath fanning against his lips.

“I don’t actually know, she was here and then...” she pressed her lips against his again eagerly. Oliver grinned, feeling her thighs tighten against his as she rocked into him. It was distracting and he easily gave in to how it felt to be surrounded by her. He thrust his pelvis against her center, groaning at the desired friction, his jeans becoming more uncomfortable. She whimpered into the kiss, the sound making him pull her harder against him. The stool tipped a little and she wobbled sideways, reminding him where they were. He nipped her lip and reluctantly pulled out of the kiss.

Felicity blinked and bit her lip before picking up her train of thought, “Um, then she was gone. So I mean she could pop back up again. How does she do that? She did it at least twice while you were gone. Once to answer the door I think and again when your mom told her to make up a room so I’d have somewhere to sleep later.”

Oliver pulled his head back and looked down at her, his eyebrow puckered. “You’re staying?”

“Well I thought I could at least stay the night. Plus your mom invited me to dinner. I can always take a flight after you go to work in the morning,” she answered with a shrug.

“Actually my dad gave me the day off tomorrow, so that works out great,” he smiled, excited at the prospect of getting her for another night. He wasn’t sure what his mom had said to make her change her mind about flying out that night but he was glad.

Felicity leaned back and drew a long slow breath. “So, what did your dad need to talk to you about?”

Oliver sighed, squeezed her hips and drew his hands back down toward her knees, he pulled her skirt to cover more of her skin. The heat from before ebbing away. “Just that he approves with me leaving the company for now. We have to have a meeting with HR on Tuesday to discuss the terms and start looking for my replacement.”

“Wow,” Felicity searched his eyes. He knew she worried if he was making the right decision, she’d told him she’d wait however long it took, that things were still new enough that she’d understand. But he knew he didn’t want to do the long distance thing anymore. He didn’t want to have to guess when the next time he’d get to see her would be. He felt that Felicity was well worth making a few changes for.

“Yeah, it went better than I thought it would go. I have some decisions to make regarding when I head to New York, but I at least have his blessing,” Oliver leaned in and placed a light kiss against her pouted lip. “So I promised you a tour?” he asked raising one eyebrow.

“Hey, it kept me from having to go with her,” Felicity answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

“That it did, but a tour will be fun,” Oliver stepped back further and held his hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her off the stool.

"Seeing the places you grew up in, that molded you into who you are is what will be fun," Felicity said with a grin. Oliver chuckled and lead her out of the kitchen, in search of his favorite places.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

“I was right it is exactly like a museum! Look theres even a room full of art,” Felicity laughed as she spun in the middle of the hall to face him.

"Actually it's more of a wing than an actual room. Usually it's closed off to guests," Oliver responded, leaning against the wall.

He had shown her his favorite childhood hiding places in the garden, all the good ones that had stumped Tommy or Thea. They stole kisses and shared less than chaste touches. Oliver had thought about doing more than touching there in the garden but pulled Felicity back into the mansion instead.

They explored the main floor, showing her the library, the small gym, they moved through the main living room to cross the foyer where they now were in the historical wing. At least that's what he called it. It held all the family heirlooms, and expensive art collected over the years.

"This is all the art that my family has acquired over generations, my mom now manages it to be swapped around from different art shows and I guess museums too," he offered, watching as Felicity stopped in front of one of the paintings. It was a watercolor by some artist he didn’t know. He hadn’t had the same interested that his mother did. Felicity’s fingers traced over the ornate frame as he wandered closer to her.

"So… what happens to all this stuff when your parents... You know when they..." she turned slightly in his direction to make eye contact.

"Kick the bucket?" Oliver finished for her. He chuckled when Felicity cringed.

"Sorry, I know that’s really morbid," Felicity stated with a shake of her head, turning to look back at the painting.

"A little maybe but don’t be sorry, everyone dies eventually. I guess it goes to me or maybe Thea. I hadn't really thought about it too much. I remember my mother explaining that they moved in just before I was born. My grandfather had moved out into a much smaller place, claiming the space was too big for just him, and that they should start their family here." Oliver stepped into Felicity's personal space. Pressing his back to hers and winding an arm around her waist. All of the touches and kisses from the day driving him full of need. “I’m sure that my mother has it all planned out. She’s a planner.”

"I can't imagine the responsibility of managing such a big home," Felicity laced her fingers with his over her abdomen, leaning her head back against his chest. She pulled them along to the next painting. He groaned into her neck when she purposely pushed back against him, she laced her fingers together with his. “Your mom is a remarkable woman.”

“She would have to be to put up with me, and Thea and my dad. I’m sure she’d appreciate knowing you thought so highly of her too,” Oliver said with a laugh against the soft smooth skin of her neck, wandering behind her as they headed back toward the main foyer.

“So how much more of the house is there to see?” Felicity asked, turning around in his arm, looping one arm around his neck and tipping up to kiss along his jaw. He reminded himself that anyone could happen upon them.

“Two more floors,” he answered with a grin and twirled her out and away from him as she groaned. He laughed and tugged her toward the main foyer to go explore the upstairs. “Come on it’ll be fun!”

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver showed her the rooms on the second floor, skipping his due to too many temptations. Raisa met them just outside Thea’s room and showed her to the room she had turned down for Felicity. It was just doors from his, but he was sure Felicity wouldn't need it. He kept that commentary to himself though. Felicity was in awe of the size, as it was bigger than the room she had at the hotel. Oliver was pretty sure it was half the size of her apartment, but that was yet another thing he kept to himself.

The third floor had not only his father's study but a small sitting room his mother often used for reading. Sun poured in through the floor to ceiling windows warming the room. It was littered with personal photographs, little trinkets his mother collected and things that they had made in school in art class.

"Wow this room is beautiful and cozy," Felicity commented as she wandered toward the windows, running her hand along the top of the couch on her way. She had fallen into a thoughtful silence. “How long do you think it’ll be before you can move to New York?”

Oliver leaned against the doorway, and watched her as she moved around the room, looking at the different pictures. He loved watching the way she smiled as she looked at them. She picked up a piece of pottery that Thea had made, examining it.

Oliver wished he had the answers she was looking for but he wasn’t sure what was going to be expected, he’d find out Tuesday. “I’m not sure. I imagine it’s one of the things that will be covered in the meeting my dad has scheduled for Tuesday. My guess would be a month to find someone and help them integrate into my position.”

“Are you going to move in with me?” Felicity asked pointedly, turning to look at him as she set the piece of pottery back down on the shelf. Moving toward another shelf that was full of books.

“I haven’t given it too much thought yet,” he answered slowly. “I’ll have to consider my options.”

Felicity nodded and smiled, she slowly made her way toward him. “Just so you know, my door is open, and as small as my place is I can definitely make room for you.”

“Good to know,” Oliver answered with a grin. He loved knowing that was definitely one of his options. He wanted to be with her, so his gut reaction was take up her offer and move in with her. But a smaller part of him reminded him how fast he’d been to jump into living with Laurel, and how epically he’d fucked that up. If he rushed it this time would he do that again? He wasn’t really willing to make that same mistake twice. No he’d look for an apartment when he moved, being close to her would be enough for a little while.

Just as he was about to tell her as much, the door to his father’s study swung open. His mother’s head poked out and looked at him and smiled.

“Oliver, I was just going to come look for you, is Felicity with you?” Moira asked taking a small step toward him.

“Yes, I’m here,” Felicity responded, suddenly in front of him.  She trailed a hand over his arm as she past him into the hall, her smile widening as she looked in Moira’s direction.

“Oh wonderful! Robert was wondering if he could speak to the two of you. If it’s a good time?”

Oliver felt his back stiffen. He knew he didn’t have too much to worry about, that his father just wanted to apologize, but he still worried about what exactly his father would say. Felicity reached back and took his hand, tugging him forward.

“Perfect timing, Moira, thank you,” Felicity answered as his mother stepped back into the room, allowing them room to pass.

“Hello Felicity!” his father greeted her and she gave a slight nod of her head. “Oliver.” His father nodded at him in greeting as well before motioning toward the chairs. “Please take a seat, this shouldn’t take too long.”

Oliver nodded and slipped into the same chair from earlier, watching as Felicity settled into the seat next to him.

“First off, Felicity, I’d like to apologize to you for what happened at dinner the other night,” Robert lowered himself onto the edge of his desk, facing Felicity. “I wish I could tell you that I had a good reason for what I did. But there is no reason that could justify that.”

“Robert, everyone makes mistakes,” Felicity offered with a shrug. Oliver found her capacity to forgive or understand both awe inspiring and annoying. Maybe that was one of her downfalls.

“That may be but being the CEO and owner of a major corporation I shouldn’t be making them. I also shouldn’t let my business sense take over in issues where my family is involved. I did a serious injustice to you and I hope that over time I’ll be able to redeem myself,” his father stated firmly, he stood from where he was leaning and walked around to the other side of his desk. “Not only did I attack you in a manner that was uncalled for but I had someone do research on you. They delved pretty deeply into your personal affairs. Something that shouldn’t have happened. It was… I was wrong.”

Robert opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a large manilla envelope. He tapped it on the edge of the desk before closing the drawer and coming back around to the front. He held it out in front of Felicity. She reached up to take it. He tightened his grasp on it for a moment.

“This is all the information that was found about you. The first three pages are what had been given to me on the night that I met you at dinner. I inappropriately read a couple more before I stopped. I apologize for that, it was never any of my business if it wasn’t something you freely offered up yourself. If anyone should know how it feels to have your personal life dug through it should be me,” Robert let go of the envelope and Felicity pulled it into her lap. She bit her lip, gnawing at it, her only tell that she was nervous. Oliver wasn’t sure if it was about what his father may have read, or what all was included in that envelope. “No one should have the info in that envelope but you.”

“Thank you,” she finally said looking up at his father. “I really appreciate you giving it to me, and I understand on some level why you did it. You have a company, family and image to protect.”

“None of that matters at all if I let go of my morals to accomplish it,” Robert responded remorsefully. “I must say that I’m glad you didn’t hold what happened between us against Oliver, or the rest of my family. I hope that from this point forward that things can be better for us.”

Felicity looked up and cocked her head to the side, Oliver had began to realize it was her contemplation look. He smiled. She reached out and took his father’s hand and shook it. “We can certainly try.”

“Good,” his father smiled and released her hand. He headed back around the desk. “I have a meeting in just a few minutes with my CFO. I’ll see you all at dinner?”

“Of course dear, come on children, lets go see what Raisa has planned,” Moira stood and headed for the door. Felicity followed after her, linking her arm with his mom, envelope tucked under the other. He watched as they walked out into the hall, as his mother asked Felicity what her favorite foods were.

Oliver slowly stood from the chair. Watching as his father started to shuffle through what looked like financial reports. “Thank you dad, for apologizing to Felicity.”

Robert looked up from a page he was studying. “You don’t have to thank me Oliver. Apologizing was the right thing to do. There shouldn’t have been a reason to apologize in the first place but I had abused my authority and I was wrong.”

“Okay then thank you for seeing that you were wrong and for giving her a chance.”

“If she is what you want Oliver then I need to respect that. She’s a smart girl, pretty and seems to care an awful lot about you. She makes you happy, and Thea has gotten very close to her. Even your mother is smitten with her. That’s all that matters to me. All that should matter to me,” he stated simply, turning back to the paper.

Oliver nodded and turned to leave the room.

“Oliver,” his father called just before he was fully through the door.

Oliver stopped and looked over his shoulder, “Yes?”

“I hope you know that I love you. I realize I don’t say it enough.”

Oliver smiled, figuring that his mother had more to do with that realization than his father coming up with it on his own. But at least his father was willing to say it. “I know dad, and I love you too, even if we don’t see eye to eye on some things.”

“Life isn’t about seeing eye to eye, son, its about being able to admit when you’re wrong, and being able to compromise, when needed, to find a solution that helps all involved,” the phone on his desk began to ring, he picked up and asked the person on the other end to hold for a second, “You’ll have to excuse me now. I’ll see you at dinner shortly.”

Oliver nodded and made his way out into the hallway. Relief washing over him for the first time in weeks. He had hope now that things could be good between him and his dad, even if he wasn’t working with him anymore. It made the road ahead look that much more appealing.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Dinner had a been a fun affair. The apology from his father to Felicity had helped clear so much of the air it was hard to remember that there had been an issue at all. It was entertaining to watch Felicity and his father joke around. The relief he’d felt hours before only blossomed further, knowing that Robert appeared to genuinely like Felicity.

After dinner Thea had stolen Felicity and Moira away to go look at the dresses she’d bought while out shopping. She wanted Felicity’s thoughts on which one would be best for her graduation party the following weekend. Felicity saying that offering her opinion was the least she could do since she wouldn’t be able to attend the graduation or the party. Oliver just nodded and figured it would be further bonding time for the pair and his mom.

Oliver told them if they needed him at all he’d be working out. He didn’t have any other plans and sitting still wasn’t really something he did a lot of. While he was in the gym he fielded texts from Tommy about getting together sometime during the week. He’d lost track of time during his run on the treadmill and hopped off sweating from head to toe. A shower was next and then he’d go steal his girlfriend back from his family.

Oliver was just stepping out of the shower when he heard his bedroom door open and close. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around him. He stepped out of the bathroom to see who it was when he was attacked by Felicity.

He caught her as her lips met his, her arms wrapping around his neck, legs around his hips, and pressing her body against his. She giggled against his smiling lips before he seized the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Tongues and teeth meeting as he turned setting her down on the first solid surface, which just happened to be his desk. Her fingers tugged at the ends of his hair as he nipped her lips.

Oliver pulled out of the kiss and smiled at her already swollen lips. “Not that I’m complaining but I thought you were busy with Thea?” Oliver held her body close to his, he could feel the heat of her center through his towel, growing hard at the prospect of being alone in his room with her. All the kisses and touching from the day taking their toll, and now that they were in the privacy of his room he didn’t feel like holding back.

“I was, then she took a call from this boy Roy she keeps talking about and well I got bored. As I was wandering the hall Tanner found me. I know this is silly but I asked him where you were and he led me here. I wasn’t sure it was yours or not until I noticed your running shoes laying there on the floor,” she answered one hand pointing to the shoes she was talking about, as the other moved absently down from his neck over the expanse of his chest. She took a breath and leaned in to press a soft kiss along his jaw. Nipping her way up to his ear to whisper, “Besides, I missed you.”

He ran his hands up her back then over her shoulders, his hands moved to pull her ponytail out she moaned and tilted her head back as he massaged her head. He pressed a kiss to her mouth and groaned when her legs tightened around him, pulling him into her as she rocked against him. “I was going to come find you after my shower.”

“That explains all the naked skin and the towel,” she smirked as she leaned back, her hands moving back down over his chest, lower over his abdomen to where the towel wrapped around his hips. Her fingers dipped under the edge and Oliver couldn’t hold back anymore. He needed her.

Oliver dug his fingers into her hair at the base of her skull and kissed her deeply. He ran his other hand down her front. He squeezed her right breast before moving lower and under her skirt seeking her heat. Felicity jerked against his hand as he cupped her over her soaked panties.

“Ugh Felicity do you have any idea what you do to me?” He groaned against the corner of her lips. She’d loosened his towel to the point that it fell in a heap at his feet. One hand immediately wrapping around his length, he thrust between her fingers.

“Oh I think it’s pretty obvi- oh yes,” her train of thought disrupted by him pushing two fingers deep within her, feeling how ready she was for him. Her fingers tightened around him and he moved to kiss along her neck, biting and nipping at the skin as he thrust his hips forward. “Oliver more,” she demanded.

Felicity whimpered as he pulled his fingers out of her. “Shh, turn around,” he ordered softly and she moaned, sliding off the edge of the desk, her body bumping against his as she turned.

Oliver pressed himself against her ass and thrusting twice before flipping her skirt out of the way. She was wearing a pair of blue lace panties that framed her butt perfectly. He grabbed them at her hips and pulled them down. He loved the way they slowly slid over her round bottom before he released them to join his towel at their feet. She stood and quickly pulled her shirt off over her head and stepped out of the lace.

Oliver pressed into her back again, kissing the skin along her spine as he unclasped her bra, she shrugged it off and it fell at their feet. He pressed a hand between her shoulder blades so she’d have to lean forward. Felicity braced her hands on top of his desk, swaying her hips, taunting him with her ass. He gripped her hips and pulled her harshly back against him, his hardness pressing hard into her fleshy ass.

“Don’t tempt me or so help me I’ll fuck you right here over my desk!” He growled into her shoulder as he leaned over her back. All the teasing through the day finally reaching a boiling point. He needed to be inside her and it didn’t matter where, here at the desk or as he preferred in his bed.

Felicity’s answer was to snap her hips back into his, making him hiss against her skin at the friction it caused against his fevered skin. She turned her head to his and stated firmly, “Maybe I want you to fuck me right here, Oliver.”

“Fine.” Oliver bit her shoulder slightly on a growl before standing up fully behind her, pinning her thighs to the desk as he leaned against her ass. He let go of her hips to reach into the second drawer of his desk. If that’s what she wanted that was what she would get. The foil package tore easily between his teeth, he sheathed himself. He pushed a knee between her thighs from behind, making her spread wider for him. He could feel the wetness that had seeped out of her making her inner thigh slick. Both of their breathing sped as he lined himself up to her.

He pushed forward slowly entering her, allowing her time to adjust. This position allowed him to enter her deeper and she felt so tight. He started with slow thrusts until she retaliated by thrusting back against him. It reminded him that she’d asked to be fucked.

Tossing caution to the wind he started to slam his hips into her ass. Bottoming out and making her hands slide against the slick surface of his desk. Felicity’s cries filled the room as their skin slapped together. He bent his knees a little more changing the angle of his thrusts and soon she screamed, her inside gripping him as he thrust in fully and stopped. Feeling her flutter around him.

Oliver panted in ragged breaths against her shoulder blades as she slowly came down, his hard length still buried deep inside her. She wrapped an arm up around the back of his neck as he held her to him. “So good,” she murmured against his lips as he kissed her.

He slowly pulled out of her as they both groaned, lifting her easily and carrying her over to his bed. He gently laid her on the bed. He kissed her and whispered against her skin as he finished undressing her. “We’re only just getting started.”

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

“I don’t want to go,” Felicity pouted as they stood in front of security. It was early, three am early. Oliver didn’t want her to go either but neither of them had much of a choice. This separation wouldn’t be that hard though. There was an end not to far off in the future, even if it was unknown at the moment.

“I know, I don’t want you to go either, but you are the one that decided you needed to see your mom before you headed back to work,” he reminded her as he pulled her against his chest. “Besides, this is truly temporary this time.”

“It doesn’t make it suck any less,” she grumbled against his neck, “I wouldn’t have to visit my mother if our pictures hadn’t made the gossip sites.”

“Who knew your mom was so up to date with that kind of stuff,” he offered with a grin.

Felicity’s mother had called her during their ‘fun time’ as Felicity had called it and demanded she come see her. The message had been very straight forward, if Felicity had been able to go visit her boyfriend for a few days, then she could very well take a day to visit her mother. After calling her mother back and finding out how she knew about Felicity’s whereabouts, Felicity had reluctantly planned her departure.

“She’s in Vegas Oliver, the land where no one ever grows up and they make their grown daughters come visit them. So of course naturally she’s really big on rag newspapers only now they can be found on computers too,” she buried her face in his shoulder and sighed deeply.

Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle. “Next time I’ll go with you.”

“Right,” she pulled her head back and looked at him in disbelief. “I’m so not ready for that. Your parents are normal. My mother is so… well she’s not.”

“She raised you so she must be amazing,” Oliver replied, Felicity’s wide eyes rolled slightly.

“Anyways, it’s time for me to gooo,” she dragged out the o as she pulled herself out of his arms and righted her small suitcase.

Oliver shoved his hands into his hoodie’s pockets and sighed. “I’m glad this isn’t going to be a lengthy goodbye.”

“Honestly Oliver, me too. Let me know as soon as you know a timeline okay?” Felicity looked up at him. Her face void of make up, looked small but not unhappy. Her lip twitched a little and she pulled it between her teeth.

“As soon as I know you’ll know,” he said, leaning to kiss her once more but keeping his hands in his pockets. The temptation to grab her again and find a closet was too strong.

Felicity nodded and started to make her way into the short queue for security. She turned and leveled him with a stare. “Oh and you better spill what you find out from Tommy too! I want to know what’s going on with them too.”

“Got it, I think I’m having lunch with him Wednesday,” he answered. She nodded and showed her boarding pass and ID to the security guy. Oliver smiled realizing they hadn’t said one thing that needed to be said. “Hey Felicity!”

Her head bobbed up as the security guy handed back her boarding pass and ID, “What?”

“I love you!” he said out loud, much louder than was necessary. A dozen heads swiveled in his direction. He watched as a slow blush moved over Felicity’s face, a slow smile lifted her lips.

“I love you too Oliver,” she said back and Oliver heard the clicks of cameras behind him. Felicity rolled her eyes and he chuckled. It would be all over the gossip rags in the morning but he was just not in the mood to care. “I’ll see you soon!”

“Really soon!”

 


	14. Where One Thing Ends A New One Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: One chapter and the epilogue left after this. Thanks for following along on this journey. I can be found on tumblr and twitter under BytemeGeekette if you'd like to ask questions or send prompts, either about this story or anything else. Love you so much for reading! -BMG

Oliver spent four hours in the board meeting from hell, one in which his future was laid out in front of him. Ultimately it was decided that he could not leave Queen Consolidated since in order to do so would mean giving up his shares in the company. That had come as a shock to both him and his father. So instead of resigning he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence.

Maybe it worked out better this way, if he ever decided to come back he could. It also left the door open for if his father expanded to the east that he could take over that division. He wasn’t going to hold his breath for it to happen but it was nice to know if it did there could be a door opened there. Once all the paperwork had been signed and the stipulations put in place he was left with the start of a tension headache as he wandered back to his office.

His father was already looking through a pile of ten candidates to take Oliver’s position. Once chosen Oliver was only obligated to stay three weeks to help with the transition. His heart felt light at the possibility of being in New York with Felicity in under a month.

Oliver shot off a text to Felicity letting her know how it went. Just as he slipped into his chair behind his desk, the phone on his desk rang.

“This is Oliver Queen,” he answered.

“Hey man, can we move lunch to today? Are you available?” Tommy’s tone was rushed.

“Hi Tommy, yeah sure, where do you want to meet?”

“That deli across from QC, in ten?”

“You got it.”

“Thanks!”

Fifteen minutes later Oliver was sitting across from a very nervous and keyed up Tommy. Two glasses of water between them. “Calm down dude.”

“I’m sorry, it’s been a crazy week,” Tommy said as he took a drink from his water glass. “I mean really crazy. I know you have a lot going on with resigning and thinking about moving to New York-”

“Oh no, I am moving to New York,” Oliver chimed in interrupting his friend. “In about a month, and it was decided today I can’t actually leave QC so I’m just going on a really long leave of absence that strips me of all authority, but whatever. Anyways, what has you so worked up?”

“I was going to get to that,” Tommy answered with a laugh. “Laurel is pregnant.”

Oliver blinked, his mind stalling for a moment. Once processed he couldn’t believe it. “Say what?”

“Yeah I know, it’s insane. She realized last week that she was late, and we figured it was stress, everything being kind of intense right now. Then Friday she fainted at work-”

“What in the-”

“Yeah, I said, insane right? Anyways, they confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, pumped her full of fluids and anti-nausea meds. She’s been feeling really sick so she skipped meals so she wouldn’t have to rush out of court. Well it backfired and she wound up pushing herself too hard. The doctor thought that maybe her symptoms were a bit too exaggerated for it being so early, so she sent her for more testing today,” Tommy explained in a rush. Oliver watched as he fidgeted with a straw wrapper. “We’re going to get married next week and I really want you to be my best man, witness whatever. We have to have two witnesses, Sara is flying in from Hawaii tomorrow.”

“You do know you can have a baby and not get married right?” Oliver was trying to keep track of everything. The bomb his best friend just dropped on him still had his head swimming. He wasn’t sure if them rushing into marriage because of the baby was a good idea. So many managed it without being married.

“Yes, we know that. But we’ve already wasted so much time. We decided that we were going to do it anyways, before we found about the pregnancy. Laurel is likely going to be on strict bedrest due to some other complications, we are waiting for those results. CNRI can’t afford to keep someone on staff that isn’t working. I would just pay for all the medical myself so that’s fine but we both agreed we want these babies to have my last name and there not be any question about it!” Tommy finished in a rush.

“Okay well, I can see where you would… wait did you just say babies?” Oliver felt like he was suffering from whiplash. How had they gone from ‘Laurel is pregnant’ to the word babies being added? All of the information all at once was quickly bringing back a tension headache.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glossy piece of white paper. He smoothed it on the table in front of Oliver. “You’re looking at my future.”

Oliver looked at the grainy photograph. He tried to see what his friend wanted him to see, he really did, but all he saw was white and gray static. “Tommy, I’m looking and all I see is static.”

“Oh, here and here,” he said pointing at two small orb shaped things within a larger circle within the grain. “They’ll be bigger next time. See the A and the B. I can’t fathom one baby, let alone two. Laurel is going out of her mind with worry. My dad is furious, he wasn’t exactly excited about us being engaged and now this!”

Oliver sat back and ran his hand over his face. “Thats…. man that is a lot to take in!”

“Yeah,” Tommy said, his eyes trained on the photograph. “When she first told me, I thought, just great, you’d knocked her up just before the two of you broke it-”

“That is not what happened,” Oliver interrupted quickly, his hand moving in the space between them over the table. He felt his stomach roll.

“Oh I know, Laurel had the TMI conversation with me. Dude two months of nothing? Seriously how is that even possible,” Tommy looked at him like he’d grown a third head.

Oliver groaned and shook his head. “Is that really important?”

“I just-”

“Look neither one of us was truly happy, so things weren’t working. You know she didn’t try either, so if she’s trying to paint it like I was-”

“No no, she explained it, I didn’t think it was all you. I just…. and you guys were planning to get married? Man that blows my mind,” Tommy shook his head in disbelief. He picked up the picture and placed it back into his pocket.

“Yeah well,” Oliver shrugged his shoulders. They all could accept some blame in that. But it was over and done with now.

Tommy looked up and smiled, “So… anyways, will you be my best man?”

Oliver sighed and leaned back into the booth, eyeing Tommy, a grin of his own lifting his lips. “Of course. I’d love to be your best man. It would be an honor.”

“Good,” Tommy said with a nod of his head. “So they wouldn’t let you cut and run huh?”

“No,” Oliver drummed his fingers on the tabletop grateful for the swing in subject, ”Seems you can’t just walk away from a company when you own one fifth of the shares, your father owns it, and your names on the building.”

“It’ll work out. I won’t lie, I’m bummed you’re leaving, especially now, with everything going on.”

“Man, who would have thought just a month ago all this would happen?” Oliver said watching the smile spread across Tommy’s face.

Tommy shook his head and laughed. “Not me, but what a ride it’s been. Hey, I saw there was another news blurb about you and your nameless queen, the idiots.”

Oliver huffed out a breath. The few people who managed to snap pictures of him and Felicity at the airport hadn’t caught her name, so the outlets were still calling her the nameless queen. There had been reporters outside the mansion gates this morning as he and his father headed into work. He was glad that for now no one had figured out her name. He knew that now that it was out though, it wouldn’t take long for someone to figure it out.

“Yeah, I was seeing her off yesterday morning. She’s visiting her mom, then has to jump back into work. Both of us will be quite busy for the next several weeks. It’ll give me a chance to concentrate on what I need to finish up here,” Oliver sighed. “Do you know of any good realtors in New York?”

“My mom does, I’ll ask her to send me a few names,” Tommy’s phone beeped and he pulled it up off the table. “Ugh, that’s my dad. So greedy with my time.”

“Good luck with that man,” Oliver joining Tommy as he stood, both tossed money on the table for the drinks, neither having ordered food.

“Thanks, and I’ll let you know all the details as Laurel plans things,” Tommy buttoned up his suit jacket and smoothed the front. “Do I look like dad material?”

Oliver laughed and slapped his best friend on the back. “Not yet, but you have the next nine months to practice before it’s a reality.”

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

“Oh my god Oliver, Laurel is pregnant with twins!” Felicity’s voice full of the shock he too was still feeling. “Twins are you serious? Oh my gosh, I have to call her. Wait, these arent-”

“No Felicity, that’s not possible. Remember?” Oliver cut her off quickly, not wanting to have that discussion again. It had been awkward the first time and he wasn’t in the mood to relive it.

“Oh yeah, two months, I forgot.”

Oliver rolled his eyes and continued to shuffle through the papers on top of his desk. Felicity was at the airport in Vegas waiting for a bad bout of weather to clear so she could head back to New York. She’d called to see how his day was going. So he’d informed her about the board meeting and his lunch with Tommy.

“They really are doing everything at warp speed aren’t they?” she said into the phone, “How do you feel about all that?”

“I’m happy for them, relieved that they want the same things. Ridiculously glad it isn’t me.”

“Yeah, well they certainly seemed happy on Saturday, so I’m sure they’ll be good,” she stated with a sigh. “I’m also really looking forward to your move. Are you going to drive? Fly?”

“I’ll fly, stay in a hotel while I look for a place, I plan to have a few places to look at once I get to town. I’m pretty sure I won’t need my car and once I figure out what I’m doing I’ll have the stuff I need shipped over,” Oliver replied. He had already gotten an email from Tommy with names of realtors that she recommended. There wouldn’t be much use of having a car living in the area where Felicity did. If they needed to go anywhere they’d walk, catch a cab, or call for a town car.

Felicity had gone uncharacteristically quiet on the other end of the phone. “Felicity, you still there?”

“Oh um yeah, so you’ve already decided to look for a place, well thats good. I mean mine is really small and, oh hey they just called for my flight! It looks like we will get to board this century after all! Oliver, I love you and I’m going to go,” she went on in a rush, he could hear her starting to move around through the phone.

“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon?”

“Yep, of course as soon as I land I’ll let you know, and then it’s back to work. Don’t forget to keep me up to date. Can’t wait to have you back in New York!”

“I will, and me too. I love you Felicity!”

“Bye Oliver!” Felicity ended the call and he looked down at his phone. He was pretty sure she just bum rushed him off the phone.

A throat clearing had him looking up. His father stood leaning against the doorway. “Felicity?”

“Yeah, she’s on her way back to New York,” Oliver stated with a shake of his head. “Anyways, did you need something?”

“Yeah I have two candidates I’d like you to look at. Then if you aren’t busy I figured we could head out early, maybe go catch the Rockets game together,” Robert stepped forward and set two folders down on top of Oliver’s desk. He and his father hadn’t gone to a game in over a year. He didn’t want to be suspicious of his father’s intentions but he felt himself become weary anyways.

“A game? Buttering me up for something?” Oliver asked as he flipped open the first one. It was a woman who had attended Stanford, older, worked for Wayne Enterprises. She had a laundry list of accolades that she’d included with her resume.

“No, just wanting to spend some time with my son. I like her the best, and think it would be good to have a woman for a change,” he sat down in the seat across from Oliver’s desk.

“Yeah, she seems like a good candidate,” Oliver agreed. It felt strange, thinking about filling the seat he was currently sitting in.

“Have you called Janice yet?” his father inquired, fingers tapping against the arms of the chair.

“No I figured I’d wait a few days, the last several days have been a bit crazy.” That was putting it mildly.

“Of course, there’s no rush, I was just wondering. I know that things have been a bit intense lately. Even for myself. Then I just got off the phone with Malcolm. He’s wound tighter than a top, he’s not ready to be a grandfather,” Robert shook his head and smiled.

Oliver was waiting for the ‘it could have been you’ but it never came. “I don’t think Laurel and Tommy were planning on being parents yet either, especially not so soon.”

“I had a moment where I thought-”

Oliver rolled his eyes, looking up from the papers he was trying to focus on and leveled his eyes on his dad, “No dad.”

“Okay,” his father nodded and looked away, “I believe you. What about the other candidate?”

Oliver flipped it open with a sigh and he just didn’t have it anymore today. Too many things were going on and his mind just didn’t want to deal with picking out his replacement today. “Dad are you looking for an answer today?”

“No,” his father eyed him. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. “I just thought you’d want to get that ball rolling. The sooner we have your replacement picked the sooner you could cut and run from here.”

“I don’t plan to just ‘cut and run’ from here! I wouldn’t rush through a decision like this. Just like I wouldn’t expect you to. Give me a little more credit,” Oliver stated, an edge to his voice. He couldn’t believe that his father would think he’d just pick someone so he could leave sooner. He was excited to start the next stage but the company was more important than that. Hadn’t he just proved that earlier that morning by not giving up his shares to the company?

“Oliver, I didn’t mean it to be offensive. I just,” Robert sighed, backpedalling, “It came out wrong. Take as much time as you need. I know that I don’t plan on making a snap decision either. I don’t want to make things tense between us again.”

Oliver groaned and closed the folder. He didn’t want things to be tense either, he had been so relieved until the board meeting that morning, and then the non-lunch with Tommy. There were a lot of changes happening. They would both have to work together to keep it calm.

“We wont let it then.” He stated confidently, ready to do his part. “How about we get out of here and go to that game?”

“Sounds like the best plan of the day,” his father answered happily, standing from the chair. “I worked through lunch and could really use a stadium dog and a beer.”

Now that was the best thing he had heard all day. “Sounds good to me, I’ll even keep it from mom. Maybe we’ll have two of each!”

Robert chuckled, “What happens at the ballpark, stays at the ballpark.”

Oliver smiled and followed his dad out of his office. Letting his assistant know on the way that he’d see her tomorrow.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

The week and a half leading up to Tommy and Laurel’s wedding had been a whirlwind.

Oliver had been tugged back and forth from work and family obligations. Thea’s graduation had come and gone, the party a nice distraction from the week at work. He and his father had finally decided on his replacement, she would be starting the following week.

Tommy had called him late one evening to tell him that his father was cutting him off and told him they wouldn’t be able to use their gardens for their ceremony. No amount of prodding from his mother would sway Malcolm. So they’d decided the Queen family garden would be the next best choice. Well Moira had decided that when Oliver mentioned the problem the next morning and she’d gone off to her office to call Rebecca and Dinah, Laurel’s mother. So began the great wedding planning event.

Then there was Tommy’s bachelor party, which amounted to getting too drunk to see straight and taking the next day off from work because he woke up still inebriated. In which Felicity sent him a text that drunk him was hilarious to talk to on the phone. He had no recollection of that conversation. But Tommy had had the time of his life so it was worth it.

The ceremony had been short and to the point. Tommy and Laurel had kept the guest list short and very tight. Just close family friends, a few of Laurel’s clients and some of the businessmen that Tommy had grown close to.

At the moment everyone was enjoying appetizers and champagne while they mingled and congratulated the newlyweds. Oliver watched his sister Thea and his friend Roy from across the garden. Much to his disappointment the two had been getting closer and closer of late. Roy had assured him that they were just friends, that it hadn’t gone further than just talking. Still Oliver watched.

“What has you so worked up?” Tommy asked as he nudged Oliver’s elbow, coming to stand in front of him, blocking his line of sight.

“Nothing,” he answered, feigning boredom but shifted to the side so that he could see Thea again.

“Yeah, because you always white knuckle grip a champagne flute? Come on what’s up man?”

“Thea,” Oliver finally relented as Roy laughed at something she said.

“What about her?” Tommy turned to look in the direction Oliver was staring. “Oh.”

“Yeah!”

“Roy’s a good kid, I wouldn’t worry-” Oliver glared at Tommy stopping him mid sentence. “Isn’t she eighteen Oliver?”

“No, she’s almost eighteen and he’s twenty,” Oliver grumbled and Tommy shook his head.

“You are not going to be able to lord over her forever brother,” Tommy remarked taking a sip from his own glass. Oliver placed his on a tray as one of the caterers moved past them. “She’s growing up and you’re moving in three weeks.”

“I know,” he sighed and dragged his eyes away from the pair.

Oliver didn’t need the reminder that he was leaving. Thea had been reminding him every day, she was happy yet angry about it. He figured it would get worse before it got better. Since there wasn’t anything he could do to change that he decided to push it out of his thoughts. Today wasn’t about him anyways. He looked over Tommy and couldn’t help but feel his mood lift.

Tommy had a permanent smile on his face, his eyes bright and happy. Oliver smiled, it was good to see his best friend so blissful. “It was a good ceremony.”

“Yeah,” Tommy said nodding, his eyes going back to Laurel, who was sitting on a bench with her mother beside her. “It’s not half bad for the rush job we put on it.”

“I’m sorry your dad decided not to come.”

“It’s okay, I think he will eventually come around. I’m just not following his direct plan for my life. He’ll get over it,” his friend said with a grin. Laurel’s eyes found them and she waved. “I got really lucky Oliver.”

“This all happened because of you,” Oliver confessed.

“Well I know I had a hand in the rush wedding,” Tommy chuckled.

“No, I mean all of it. I mean my breaking it off with Laurel, my meeting Felicity, finding my own happiness, all of it.”

Tommy’s brow furrowed as he stared at Oliver. “What do you mean?”

“Remember that night we met for drinks, I told you about how I wasn’t sure getting married was for me. Basically laid myself bare?”

“Yeah I remember. I remember thinking you were the biggest idiot.”

“I was the biggest idiot,” Oliver chuckled, putting his hands in his pants pockets he looked over to where Laurel was sitting. She had a glow about her that he was sure now he’d never seen. Tommy was able to do that. “She never really belonged to me. When you told me that if I loved her, truly loved her then I wouldn’t have so much insecurity about getting married it really opened my eyes. After the hangover wore off I really started to dissect everything. Laurel was always yours. So again, this is all your doing. I think that if you hadn’t said what you did, this wedding would have been hers and mine and in five or so years we would have been going through a messy divorce, maybe dragging kids along with us. So really, thank you Tommy.”

Tommy silently stared at him when he’d finished. Oliver watched as the gears turned in Tommy’s head. What he was thinking Oliver wasn’t sure. “Well I’m glad you asked to go for beers that night then. But I think the two of you would have got your shit together before you actually tied the knot.”

Oliver doubted it, but he wasn’t going to argue with his friend on his wedding day. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m just glad things changed.”

“Me too,” Tommy sighed when Laurel started waving them over. “I think it’s time I went and kissed my wife.”

Oliver laughed. “Maybe.”

Before Tommy walked away, he gripped Oliver’s shoulder. “Next time we do this, it’ll be you.”

“Someday,” Oliver agreed with a smile, imagining the roles reversed.

Tommy nodded, walked toward Laurel, pulling her up into a tight embrace, as people called out for a kiss. Tommy swooping Laurel low in a dip, her laughs heard from across the garden as Tommy leaned in to kiss her. Oliver definitely liked the prospects of one day getting to experience the same thing. He snapped a picture and sent it off to Felicity.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver taped up one last box, writing the contents on the side before adding it to the stack of other boxes. He looked around his room, only the basics were left. The boxes were mostly stuffed with the parts of his life he wouldn’t need right away. He had two large suitcases full of the things he was taking with him. He didn’t want to have to move around a lot of stuff prior to finding a place. A garment bag hung visible in the mostly empty closet, the suits he would need for his new job.

After he and his father had decided on his replacement, he finally set about finding a job for himself in New York. He’d called Janice and she was eager to do a video conference, at the end she offered him the job and he accepted. Oliver at first didn’t want to take the job, being as his father seemed to push him in that direction. But ultimately out of all his options it was the most appealing. It would give him a different avenue to learn and he really enjoyed Janice as a person. Cypress would be a great starting ground for him.

It had taken three and a half weeks to get everything settled. Now it was time to leave Starling.

Oliver’s last day at Queen Consolidated was just four days ago. He’d spent the four days since spending time with Thea, taking his mom to lunch, taking in one more ballgame with his dad, and packing.

“You done?” his sister’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts as he turned around in his room. Thea stood in the doorway, holding one of his hoodies.

“I think so,” he reached over and sat the tape dispenser on top of the stack of boxes.

“You’re really going today?”

“Yep, I’m waiting on the car,” he said watching as Thea chewed her lip, fingers tightening around the fabric in her hands. “I’m gonna miss you Speedy.”

“I wish you’d stop calling me that, Ollie.”

“Not everyone gets what they wish for,” he teased. “Come here.”

She made quick work of the distance separating them and he pulled her into a hug. Oliver leaned his cheek against the top of her head. He felt her sigh deeply, her breath hitching slightly. He reminded himself he wasn’t saying goodbye, just a see you later.

“I won’t be gone forever,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, his voice lower than normal.

“I know,” she whispered back, her voice teary. Thea pulled back to look up at him. “I was just getting used to you being home again, now you’re leaving.”

“That’s just how things go little sister, we all have to grow up, move out…”

“Yeah, soon it’ll be me, what’s mom going to do with herself?”

Oliver stiffened at her declaration. He didn’t want to think about her leaving the mansion yet. He knew that her and Roy were quickly on their way to becoming more than just friends. He just prayed she didn’t move things along with him too quickly. Of course Thea was a lot smarter than he had been.

“She’ll do what she always does, throws herself into her passions. We will always be her babies.”

“I guess,” Thea stepped back, breaking free of his arms. She held the hoodie out to him. “I borrowed this the other evening when Roy took me to see that movie. It was our first outing alone and so I wore it to remind him that you were my brother. I figured you’d want it back.”

Oliver shook his head and chuckled. “How was the hoodie supposed to do that?”

“It’s the one with your name on the back, from when you played baseball I think.”

“Oh, that one. You can keep it Thea, a parting gift.” She shrugged, but pulled it close to her chest. “You know I think Felicity mentioned having you out to visit in a month or so, would you like that?”

Thea’s face lit up and some of the tension Oliver felt over their goodbye lessened. “That would be amazing! Just you’ll have to let me know. I’m starting an internship next week at the company.”

“Really?” Oliver studied his sister. Excitement made her eyes sparkle.

“Yep, I talked to dad. I told him I wanted to get my MBA and he said that I could work there while I started the classes online. Then in the fall I’ll be heading off to Stanford,” she was nearly bouncing by the end. “I can’t wait.”

“See, maybe you’ll be CEO one day.”

“That’s the hope,” she said with a wink. “We know out of the two of us I’m the best candidate.”

Oliver chuckled and shook his head. “I’m going to miss you Thea, you’re the best little sister anyone could have.”

“I think you’ve said that everyday for the past three weeks.”

“It’s the truth,” Oliver smiled and pulled her back in for a hug, which she returned with an extra squeeze.

“Thanks Ollie, and you’re the best big brother ever,” she pulled out of the hug, and started to back toward the door as the doorbell rang.

“Oliver, the car is here!” Moira called from downstairs. Oliver headed toward the door of his room.

“Your chariot awaits!” Thea said with a laugh as she turned toward her room.

“You’re funny,” he laughed at Thea and turned to call toward the stairs, “Mom, I’ll be right down!”

“Bye Ollie, don’t be a stranger okay?” Thea said as she stood in the doorway to her room.

“Bye Thea, and I won’t we’ll still talk all the time,” he said honestly, Thea nodded and disappeared into her room.

Oliver stepped back into his own to retrieve the things he was taking with him. He would have to make a second trip for the rest. He took a quick look around to be sure he had everything. He was confident that this move was the right decision.

For the first time he wasn’t running away from anything, instead he was running toward his future.

 


	15. Home is Where You Are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: This is the last official chapter of this story. Tying hopefully back to the last paragraph of the first chapter. I do have an epilogue though which I may post by the end of this week. My husband comes home Thursday and so the next week will be crazy. I received so much love recently on a one off that I posted that I thought I'd give back a little with an early update. I hope you enjoy and thank you for following this story! ~BMG

Oliver had been in New York for three days before Felicity finally was back and had time off. He’d spent those days getting through new employee orientation and all the paperwork to start at Cypress. He also managed to meet with a realtor and see a few apartments.

When she’d called that morning to say she’d be in town by lunch time Oliver called and made them dinner reservations. Saying he missed her was an understatement. More than a month between visits was too long. He was relieved that they’d never have to go that long without seeing each other again. He knew that her work would take her away some but he’d be there waiting for her upon each return. Maybe not in the same home, for now, but at least in the same city.

With light steps Oliver approached Felicity’s building, as he went to press the button to call up to her apartment Mrs. Templer opened the door, her dog in tow.

“Hello Mrs. Templer!” Oliver greeted brightly.

“Oh hello dear!” she greeted him with a warm smile, the skin around her eyes crinkling. “You’re back in town for a visit?”

“Well, actually I moved here,” Oliver answered a grin firmly planted on his lips. “I’m here to take Felicity out for dinner. I was just about to ring her apartment. Do you think I could-” he gestured toward the door.

“Of course!” Mrs. Templer answered happily, holding the door open for him. “We wouldn’t want to keep her waiting, now would we.”

Oliver grabbed the door and held it, allowing her to pass him. “No certainly not! Thank you Mrs. Templer, I appreciate it.”

“Oh you’re very welcome, and please darling call me Lucy, now you go have fun! Tell Miss Felicity hello for me,” Lucy patted his chest before continuing down the stairs.

“I will.”

Oliver took the stairs two at a time until the last set, slowing down to catch his breath. He straightened his button down shirt once he was outside her door. His mood light as he reached out and gave a quick rap of his knuckles against her door. His heart racing, both from the run up the stairs and excitement.

The door swung open and Felicity smiled brightly at him. “Oliver! You’re here! You’re early, I’m not quite ready yet, I need to pick my shoes and I haven't gotten to my make up yet, it felt too good sitting in the tub after flying the last several days- oh dear, come in!” She stopped herself mid ramble, as he openly stated at her, just happy to see her. She stepped back allowing him to step into her apartment. It was every bit as cozy as he remembered. It had been over two months since he stepped foot inside her space, too long. “You didn’t ring, how did you get in?”

“Uh Lucy, Mrs. Templer, let me into the building,” he answered, she nodded and he took a moment to take her in.

Felicity was in a red strapless dress, the bodice tight with a sparkling belt high on her waist, the skirt was short ending at mid thigh and flared outward. It was the type of skirt that made fingers itch to dive under. The long expanse of her legs had him hardening, envisioning being between their creamy softness. She was busying herself with trying to put on a necklace.

"Here will you help me?"

She turned to face away from him and held both her hands out behind her over her shoulders. Oliver took the invitation and stepped close to her back. Their bodies close but not quite touching as he took the ends of the necklace. Her hair was pulled up into a messy knot at the back of her head giving him an uninterrupted view of her neck and shoulder blades, her adorable butterfly tattoo. He clasped the necklace letting his fingers drag slowly down over her shoulders, his thumb tracing over the outline.

Felicity sighed softly and leaned back into him. Oliver leaned into her breathing in her familiar vanilla and freesia scent, having missed it more than he realized. He let his fingers trail down her arms, unable to resist touching her. She shifted back a half step, her body finally connecting with his, brushing against his obvious arousal. Olive groaned bending down to press a kiss below her ear.  
“Oliver,” she breathed, a hand reaching back to lace into his hair. He nipped gently at the skin of her neck making her breath hitch. “We… we have dinner.”

“Yes,” he answered on a breath, watching as goosebumps raised across the skin over her shoulder, a soft blush moved across her skin. Oliver wrapped his other hand around her waist, spreading his hand over her belly, and pulled her tight against him. The need for her stronger than the need to eat. "God I have missed you!"

“I’ve missed you too,” she groaned, turning suddenly in his arms and kissed him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he lifted her up against him easily. He pressed her against the wall, as she wrapped her legs around his hips and rocked against him.

Felicity sucked his tongue, fingers tugging at his hair making him groan into her mouth. He gripped her tighter in his hands, loving the way her body gave just enough under his fingers. He thrust against her as he nibbled her lips. Her mouth left his as her head tipped back thudding softly against the wall. Her neck too tempting not to trace with his tongue and teeth as he moved lower.

"If we... leave... we could… ontime… argh fuck it!" She groaned as his teeth sank into the soft flesh heaving at the top of her dress. He chuckled as he pulled back looking down at the needy look she gave him. Felicity rarely if ever cussed. It was wonderful knowing he could bring that side out in her, that she was just as affected as him.

Felicity smirked, her eyes full of heat. She gripped his shirt and gave a hard, white knuckle tug, a spike of arousal ran through him, as buttons popped and flew. Her laugh cut off as Oliver attacked her mouth on a growl. Sucking her tongue between his lips as his hands ran down her thighs, his hips pinning her to the wall, finally sliding under the soft sheer fabric of the skirt of her dress.

Driven by need and longing, Felicity tugged and fought with his shirts until they were free from his body. His belt buckle unfastened, any other barriers swiftly pushed out of the way as teeth and lips clashed together. Felicity’s whimpered groan a fan to the flames as he sunk deep into her. One lovely leg draped over his arm, the other he gripped tightly fingers digging into the tender flesh of her thigh as he thrust into her over and over again, fucking her against the wall in her living room. He would have felt bad about ruining the dress she still wore except for her begging him for more, for harder, biting the skin of his neck and shoulder.

Felicity screamed as her body tightened around him, his own orgasm slamming through him unexpectedly, his own shout of triumph lost against her shoulder. Panting and sweaty Oliver carried her as far as her couch where he fell, Felicity on top of him still half wrapped around him, him softening inside her. She nuzzled her face into his neck, kissing him between breaths, her fingers tracing over his bare chest.

"Sorry," he said once he had enough breath in him to do it, though he wasn’t really sorry about any of it.

"Oh don't ever be sorry for that!"

"Not sorry about that, sorry we missed our reservation," he clarified.

"Points for thinking we would have been able to control ourselves after being apart so long," she leaned up and pressed her lips to his, her body shifting slightly as he slipped out of her.

Oliver hummed and squeezed her tighter. He delighted in the way her curves pressed just right to him. “Maybe we can order some Chinese?”

“Hmm, maybe,” Felicity hummed moving to kiss along his jaw, she licked his chin and he groaned as she moved lower.

Oliver’s thoughts of food slowly disappearing as she slowly progressed down his neck, “Felicity, what are…” she bit softly into his collarbone, “... what are you doing? We should get food.”

Felicity’s tongue slipped over his right nipple, sending warm tingles down his spine, a new flood of need pouring through him. His thoughts lost as she moved down further humming against his skin, “I’m not hungry just yet, at least not for Chinese.”

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

The next morning she tossed a small package on his chest before climbing back into bed. He opened it, all the while smiling as he tore off the green paper. Inside were two keys on a ring with a crown attached. He eyed them warily. They'd had this discussion already.

"The bigger one is the key to the building, the second, the green key is to my apartment. It works on all the locks, and the crown... Well that's because your last name is Queen. I thought the crown would be funny," Felicity explained happily, as she nuzzled back in next to him. All of her curves pressed tightly against his side.

"You don't have to give me keys Felicity, I'm not moving in," Oliver stated again.

"Oliver, I know that, but you're going to want to come over and I don't want to have to run down six flights every time to let you in,” she kissed his shoulder and pressed her face into his neck. Her hand tracing designs against his ribcage.

“Stop, you’re distracting me,” he groaned as her fingers ghosted up over his chest. Felicity was good at knowing just the right ways to pull him out of a serious conversation.

“Sorry what?” Felicity feigned innocence, leaning up so she could look down at him.

Oliver groaned and shifted to turn into his side so he could look her in the eye. He loved her, but he needed her to understand this. “Felicity, a key means a lot of responsibility, it means I can come and go as I please, as if I lived here!”

“Ugh God Oliver, it’s just keys!” Felicity rolled away from him and climbed back out of the bed. “Nothing more. Hmm, look my closet is still full of only my things,” she waved her hand in that direction. Storming over to her dresser she started opening and slamming drawers. “Hm… odd none of them are empty either!”

When she pulled on a pair of panties, and covered herself with the t-shirt he’d worn over the night before and stormed out of her bedroom, Oliver suddenly felt like maybe he’d offended her. He climbed out of the bed grabbing his boxer briefs off the floor and quickly stepped into them, yanking them up his legs, almost tripping as the waistband caught at his knee. “Felicity wait,” he called.

“Ugh, I’m just making coffee,” she called back at him, her voice coming from the kitchen had a slight edge to it.

Oliver stumbled into the kitchen, to find Felicity kneeling on the counter, reaching up into the upper shelf of one of her cupboards. His stomach dropped into his feet as he imagined her falling backward off the counter. He went over and grabbed the cup she was reaching for and put it on the counter. She glared at him and huffed as he lifted her down.

“You’re going to kill yourself one of these days, they make these things called step stools. Maybe we should buy you one,” he said stepping back to lean against the counter as she busied herself at her coffee maker.

“I’ve been doing that for years, literally years before you came along and guess what, I haven’t died yet! So don't be condescending toward me or I will make your life a living hell!”

“I’m sorry,” he offered and she just snorted, her back to him. Definitely offended. Oliver sighed, rubbed his hands over his face before crossing them over his chest, waiting for her to respond.

“Look Oliver, I know you’re not interested in moving in with me right now. I understand that, you want something that is yours and you don’t want us to rush things because of your past, I really do get it. Trust me I love being independent and having my own space,” she turned to face him. “I’m not giving you the keys to encourage you to move in at all. I only want you to have them so you can come over if you want, hell if you want you can still ring the buzzer to announce you’re here. The keys really are so I can be lazy! Nothing more.”

Oliver sighed, maybe he was putting too much emphasis on the keys. It was six flights of stairs afterall. “Okay, okay if this will make you happy I’ll keep the keys.”

Felicity smiled stepping toward him. “It’ll make me very happy! See now was that so hard?”

Oliver closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. He pressed his forehead to hers and kissed her nose. “No. I really am sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s okay, I have a thick skin, and you’re the one that took the keys as meaning more than they should.” With a sigh Felicity turned in his arms as the machine behind her stopped making noise. She grabbed up the carafe and poured coffee into her mug. The strong smell filling the small kitchen. “Want some?”

Oliver looked at the clock on her stove, it was just after eight. He had a nine thirty appointment with the realtor. He hadn’t asked Felicity yet if she wanted to go along, he hoped she would. He reluctantly let go of her and reached into the same cupboard for another cup, handing it to her. “Sure, I’ll have some then I need to head back to the hotel so I can shower and get dressed.”

“Oh,” she poured a second mug, handed it to him. She lifted hers to her lips and took a sip, a small groan leaving her as she swallowed. His girl loved her coffee. "Is it work stuff? I thought you got everything done already?"

"Actually I set up a couple apartment viewings for today," he replied and watched her closely. Relief filling him when she smiled.

"That's good, but didn't you see two yesterday?"

"Yes, but they were farther away from here than I liked," he answered with a shrug. The first had reminded him too much of his place with Laurel and the second was a three bedroom which he really wasn’t ready for.

"Where are these new ones located?" Felicity asked pulling out one of the chairs at her table and sat down.

Oliver once again leaned back against the counter. "One is in the building across from the hotel I'm staying in, so within walking distance of here and another is closer to that coffee shop you love."

"Oh cool, sounds convenient, how long is it going to take you to look at them?"

“I'm not sure," he tapped his fingers on the side of his coffee mug. "Actually, I was wondering if  you’d like to come along?"

Felicity grinned behind her cup as she sipped her coffee. He couldn't help but grin in return.

"I guess that could be fun," she finally said before tipping her cup back and emptying the contents. "Which one is first?"

"By the coffee shop," Oliver finished his coffee and placed the mug in the sink.

"Perfect they have the best breakfast muffins," Felicity stood up from the chair. Going to the sink, she rinsed her mug and set it to the side.

Oliver slipped his hand around her waist before she could go anywhere and drew her close. "You really okay?"

"Yes, are you?" she asked, one eyebrow quirking up.

"I just wanted to be sure I'm not hurting your feelings by finding my own place."

Felicity sighed, went up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Oliver tightened his grip around her. She pulled back and smiled his smile. She brought her hands up to hold his face. “I’m totally fine with you finding your own place, can we stop dwelling on it now?”

Olive gave a nod and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. He released her hips and let her step back. “Then we better get ready to go.”

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

“This one is really small, one of the smallest we’ve looked at I think,” Felicity whispered over her shoulder to him. Oliver stood behind her, his arm wrapped around her waist, while the realtor tried to sell the apartment to him. It was a one bedroom, similar to Felicity’s only smaller, much smaller, if that was even possible. The kitchen and living room were all one space, while it looked open it actually looked smaller. The bathroom had only a shower and there wasn’t a walk in closet. “How much did he say this one cost?”

“Twenty three hundred a month, utilities included,” Oliver whispered close to her ear. Bob Ander, his realtor, rambled on about the view from the roof, and how close to the city center it was.

“Wow…” Felicity huffed out with a shake of her head. “I’m most definitely in the wrong business.”

“Maybe,” Oliver pressed a kiss to her temple and gave her a squeeze. He was beginning to think they both were.

“So, Mr. Queen what do you think? Is this the one?” Bob asked, too into his spiel to notice they’d stopped paying attention.

“I’m going to have to think about it. It does have a nice courtyard though,” Oliver stated, stepping away from Felicity toward the small sliding door off the living room.

On the other side was what he guessed passed as a balcony, it was nothing like Felicity’s. Her’s was large enough for a couple chairs, a small table. This thing was so small he wasn’t sure if they could both stand on it together. The courtyard below was nice, had a couple small sitting areas, a quaint little communal area for the building.

“The amenities in the building make it worth the price, there is a gym in the basement, free laundry, and like I said utilities included. It’s also in a highly desired neighborhood,” Bob tried again from behind him.

Felicity slipped her fingers into his hand, lacing hers with his, giving his hand a squeeze. Oliver felt frustrated. It had been two weeks since he’d moved, they’d looked at fifteen different apartments.

This one wouldn’t work either, it just didn’t feel right.

“I’ll definitely have to think about it. The other one was bigger than this one,” Oliver said, turning to face the older man, maybe he needed a different realtor.

“I understand Mr. Queen, there has been a couple other viewings, and a few more in the coming days, just let me know when you’re ready to decide,” Bob motioned them toward the door.

Felicity’s shoes squeaked on the cheap linoleum as they walked out the door. They were started down the steps when turned and whispered, “I don’t think your mother would be caught dead in this building.”

Oliver huffed out laugh, he turned to the man following them down the stairs, “Thank you Bob for showing us the apartment.”

“You’re welcome Mr. Queen, it’s always a pleasure seeing you and Miss Smoak. But I wouldn’t sit on a decision long.”

“I won’t,” Oliver already knew that he would have to keep looking.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver loosened his tie as he walked from the taxi up to Felicity’s building. It had been a long day of meetings, the cap on a long week of hard work. Working for Cypress was a lot more work than what he was doing for QC but it was more gratifying. Since he’d started he’d helped spearhead three new projects. He went home at the end of each day physically and mentally exhausted but feeling like he was actually accomplishing something.

The only thing Oliver hadn’t accomplished yet was finding an apartment. Two months and three realtors later he still couldn’t find one he felt was going to work for him. He’d lost count of how many places he’d looked at.

Felicity went with him on most of the viewings, other times he just went alone. She tried hard to up sell every place they saw together. Pointing out things she really liked, or if the place was just a disaster she was quick to help end the walk through.

Admittedly, it was getting old living in a hotel. His room was comfortable enough and even had a small kitchenette but it wasn’t the same as a home. It definitely didn’t feel like it did when he was at Felicity’s, helping make dinner when she was in town, sitting watching tv, or the mundane helping with laundry. He spent a lot of time at Felicity’s instead of in the hotel. Even when she was away under the guise of keeping Pixel company.

He’d just stepped up onto the first stair when Lucy, Mrs. Templer, came out of the building. He looked up and felt himself smile, it was hard not to. She was one of the sweetest ladies he’d ever met, and with one wicked sense of humor. The two of them had become close over the last two months he’d been in New York. Felicity always called her Mrs. Templer, but Oliver had learned her name was Lucy and she’d insisted he call her that instead.

She was shaking her head and making a tsking sound as she lead her dog down the stairs. “Honeymoon’s over Lover Boy!” she said as she stopped in front of him, blocking his advancement up the stairs.

Oliver couldn’t help but laugh. “Excuse me?”

Lucy chuckled in return, the sound thin as she shook her head. “You sir may want to reconsider going in there, although you should anyhow, to retrieve the box of your things from the bottom of the stairs.”

Oliver came up short at the sincerity in her voice, he felt his smile slip. Lucy just gave him a knowing look and sighed deeply. What was she talking about? Why would there be a box of his things at the bottom of the stairs? “I don’t understand.”

“Oh I know dear, that is exactly why I’m giving you a heads up. I’ve been waiting for you to show up all afternoon. Felicity has been up and down those stairs a million times today hauling that box up and down. I’m not sure what you’ve done to upset her but you need to fix it. Or you may want to find somewhere else to stay tonight,” she patted his arm and started to walk away, leading her dog out for a walk.

“I wasn’t even here, what could I have done?” Oliver thought aloud and she turned to look over her shoulder.

“I think it’s more about what you aren’t doing, than what you have done. Good luck Oliver,” she stated and resumed her way down the sidewalk. Leaving him to stand there bewildered.

Oliver shook his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket. No messages from Felicity. The last one from earlier that morning everything seemed fine. He retrieved his keys and made for the door. Maybe she was reading too much into what Felicity was doing that day.

Sure enough, sitting in the foyer under the mailboxes was a banker box. The lid sitting to the side because it was stuffed full of his clothing, a few other small items, a pair of his running shoes. The thing that knotted his stomach up instantly was the shirt that was balled up on the top of the pile. It was the first t-shirt Felicity had pilfered from him. He groaned inwardly and rubbed his hands over his face. What in all hell was going on?

Oliver sighed and gathered his strength in preparation for what he didn't even know. He bent over and picked the box up and started up the six flights of stairs, so familiar now that they didn’t even wind him. When he got to the top, the door was standing slightly ajar. He pushed it open with his foot before angling himself and the box through the doorway.

“Felicity?” Oliver called out, as he stepped into the apartment, he set the box down on the chair in the livingroom. A quick look around filled him with unease, it was spotless. Felicity only cleaned this way when she was upset. The last time had been when she’d been passed over for a long trip because the new flight attendant was buddy buddy with the pilot.

“In here,” she answered, he followed her voice into her kitchen.

“Hey baby,” he said, studying her in order to get a good feel for her mood. Her hair was up in a messy bun, she was wearing a loose fitted running tank and a pair of dark purple yoga crop leggings and her running shoes. He could see a slight flush to her skin. She must have just returned from jogging. She was putting together what looked like a sandwich. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, fine, fine,” she said over exuberantly as she turned to look over her shoulder, one eyebrow quirked. His stomach sank as he realized there was something wrong, and it was likely his fault. “Why?”

“Um, well I found this box of my things at the bottom of the stairs. I’m wondering why that is,” he inquired gently.

Felicity looked back at her sandwich and very flatly said, “Well it’s not my stuff.”

Oliver blinked and stared at the back of her head. He knew that the items weren’t hers, but it didn’t answer why they were boxed up. “Were they in your way? If so you could have-”

“In my way… hmm… Oliver, do you live here?” she asked sharply, cutting him off. She cut the sandwich in half, then dropped the knife into the sink, it clattered loudly before resting on the bottom. Oliver flinched.

“No?” He answered, though it sounded more like a question.

“Then why is it, that there is an entire box worth of your things spread all over my apartment?” Felicity sat down at her table, her plate hitting the surface with a soft thud.

“Because couples tend to do that, leave things at each other places,” he offered.

“Um, sure an item or two maybe but not a box… actually there is more, it just won’t all fit in the one box but I didn’t-” she stopped her ramble with a shake of her head, “Anyways, if it was just what couples do then there would be more of my things at your place. Which I think I can count on one hand the number of things I've left at the hotel!”

Olive flinched again as her loud voice made an appearance. “So, you’re mad?”

Felicity sat the half of sandwich she’d just picked up back onto her plate. “Oliver,” her eyes met his, her tone dripping in annoyance. “Oh no, I’m not mad.”

“Then I’m just trying to understand why all of a sudden you’re having an issue with my stuff being here.”

“Because you made such a huge stink about NOT living here Oliver!! But I come home from being gone for two days and what do I walk in on, I trip over your running shoes! How are they even here when you aren’t? Did you walk back to the hotel barefoot? And clothes!” she threw her hands up in the air and huffed. “Little pieces left here and there all over the place. It’s been two months Oliver!!” Felicity yelled at the end, her face flushed in anger.

Oliver stiffened where he stood, his own blood beginning to boil in response to her yelling at him. “Really is this about me not finding a place? I didn’t know you were so put out by having me here! You weren’t complaining this morning when-”  
“Don’t bring sex into this!!” she seethed cutting him off, standing from her chair her hands in fists at her side, glaring at him. “Don’t you even dare.”

“Well then what’s your problem?” Oliver yelled back, stepping into the kitchen. “I would think you’d be delighted that I’m spending more time here, you after all gave me keys and an open door! It’s not my fault that all the apartments in this area aren’t that appealing!”

“Excuse me? What is MY problem? MY problem is you!” she advanced toward him, pointing her finger into his chest. “You and your inability to make a commitment!” Felicity yelled, stepping back. “We have looked at some really nice apartments, so you really mean that they aren’t appealing to you! You always find some lame excuse as to why it won’t work for you. ‘This one is too close to that’ or ‘this one doesn’t have a balcony’! Grow the hell up Oliver, and pick a damn place to live!”

“You’re being ridiculous! My inability to make a commitment? Are you even hearing yourself right now? Who just changed his job? Me! Who moved across the country? Oh yeah that’s right, I did! That is a pretty damn big commitment! So excuse the hell out of me if I am a little picky about where I want to live!” Oliver yelled back.

“A little picky Oliver?! A little picky is not wanting mayo on your sandwich. What you are is a framing perfectionist! No place is perfect enough for you! Do you even want to be here Oliver? Maybe that’s it! Maybe New York isn’t what you thought it would be? If that’s the case then say so. No one is going to hold it against you,” Felicity’s voice dropping toward the end, she visibly shrunk in front of him.

Oliver stared at her in shocked disbelief. How in the world had she come up with him not wanting to be here? “What in all hell are you talking about?”

“Why else wouldn’t you be able to choose? Or at least settle for a temporary place to live? I don’t understand it! You were so gung ho that you didn’t want it to look like you were living here. But then you spend basically every night here, there’s all your things piling up in my space. Oliver, I don’t mind it but really you need to decide what you’re doing! I’m sick of feeling like I’m in limbo too!” She sighed, her shoulders slumping.

Oliver watched and his heart hurt. Hurt because they were fighting over something so silly. Fighting about his inability to find a home. But that was the problem, none of those places could be home without her.

The realization hit him full force as he stood in the kitchen, that he’d grown to love, with the woman he loved more than anything in the world, arguing about his things filling up her space when he had been the one to say he didn’t want to live with her. She had every right to be angry with him.

He was giving her mixed signals. Saying one thing but doing another completely.

He had been so focused on wanting to prove that he could do this, live away from his hometown, have his own work, live alone, that he’d lost sight of what he truly needed. Somewhere along the way this became what he needed. This was home, that’s why none of the other apartments appealed to him. He’d been here for two whole months and nowhere was like Felicity’s. He didn’t need a place of his own. He just needed her.

Felicity was Oliver’s home, so no matter where she was he wanted to be there.

“Because they don’t feel like home, not a single one of them! I stood there in a couple with you and thought maybe but not a damn one of them felt like when I’m here with you! You’re my home Felicity!”

Felicity stared at him blankly for a moment, head doing her tilt thing. Then her eyes widened as his words settled over her, filtering through the haze of their fight. “I don't…” She started but stopped, she shook her head. “But… Oliver, you said…”

Oliver spanned the empty space between them in two easy strides, her kitchen blessedly small. He pressed his lips to hers in a soft brief kiss. He pulled back to look into her eyes as he grabbed her fisted hands and pulled them toward his chest.

“I know what I said, and I’m an idiot. I’m sorry Felicity, I should have realized sooner, I don’t want to live anywhere that you aren’t. None of those places can live up to what you have here. Please forgive me, and may I live here with you?”

Felicity started at him, eyes wide and searching. “I…” she swallowed and reached up, her hands on either of his cheeks. “Are you really sure you want to live here, with me?”

Oliver moved his hands to caress her face, enjoying the small smile that started to tug at her lips. He loved watching her eyes sparkle as silent tears started to form.

“I have never been more sure of anything in all my life,” Oliver stated firmly and confidently before pulling her into a kiss.

Felicity pulled back, "I thought you'd never ask!"

"So that's a yes?"

"Oliver you can be so-"

Oliver cut her off with a kiss, lifting her in a tight hug. This was who he needed, this is where he belonged.


	16. Epilogue: Here's to the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently mapping out a sequel to this fic. As well as several bonus chapters that are posted in a work by itself here called Sometimes You Need a Bonus. Be sure to check it out, and stay tuned for the sequel. :) 
> 
> You all are wonderful and thanks so much for reading!!! 
> 
> Find me on tumblr and Twitter@ bytemegeekette

 

"Oliver, we are going to be late!" Felicity called from the closet, an edge to her voice. The reminder was more for herself than for him, she was the one still dressing.

Oliver knew they were cutting it close, again. But Felicity had been the one to insist on a joint shower to save time. Which in hindsight had been the mistake, the shower ended up taking twice as long as a standard shower.

"I'm already dressed," he responded with a shake of his head. He sat on the trunk at the foot of their bed tying his shoes. Everything was packed and ready to go. The town car he’d hired would be there any minute.

"Oh, okay. I'll be done in a minute!"

Felicity was on edge. They had missed the flight back to Starling the day before because he had a meeting run later into the afternoon than planned, but it couldn’t be avoided. Which shouldn’t have been a problem except that Laurel had gone unexpectedly into labor. Felicity had planned to be there, the last two months she was obsessed about it.

Laurel and Felicity had bonded over creating a virtual record system for CNRI. Bedrest had driven Laurel near mad with boredom, so she’d found a way, with permission from her doctor and boss to keep mind busy. The firm had been wanting to migrate to a virtual system for a while, but there was no time or manpower to head it up. Laurel had nothing but time. Four months ago she had enlisted Felicity’s help to help with the security side of the site, another carefully vetted design firm handled the hardware. Long skype conversations and longer phone calls, brought the two of them closer. By the time the job was done, the calls had transformed into friendly banter and excitement over the coming arrivals.

Laurel had asked Felicity if she wanted to be there one morning after an all night phone call because of Laurel’s insomnia. Much to Oliver’s surprise Felicity had been ecstatic and agreed right away. But as the time approached Felicity had started to worry that she wouldn’t get to make it in time. But then just the week before the doctor had set up the induction date determining it would be better for Laurel to have the babies under controlled circumstances. Laurel’s blood pressure was starting to become an issue. The induction date had given Felicity room to breath, she was excited again at the prospect of getting to be there.

One meeting had ruined that.

They had been reduced to listening over the phone as Tommy, or Sara toward the end, gave a play by play. After 8 hours of labor Laurel and Tommy's twin boys were born just 10 minutes apart. Now Felicity just wanted to get there as soon as possible, which meant they had to rush to catch an early 5 am flight.

Oliver’s phone buzzed in his pocket, he pulled it out and yawned. “Felicity, the car is here. We need to go.”

“Alright, alright I’m coming,” she darted out of the closet her heels in hand. Oliver sucked in a breath as he looked at her. He felt the blood in his brain flee pooling somewhere else entirely. "Did you make sure to pack the camera? Oh wait never mind I did that already. I think I packed it in the carry on so I wouldn't lose it. So, okay, yep, now I'm ready. Oliver, are you ready?"

“No,” he said firmly, once he’d blinked and his brain began to click back on. Why would she do this of all days?

“No, wait but didn’t you just say you were already dressed?” she said, confusion evident in her voice. “You look dressed.” She braced herself on the wall with one hand, bending slightly as she put on her heels with the other hand. So much of her legs were on display, if she bent over just a little-

“You can not wear that for the flight!” Oliver answered, his voice dropping into a growl as his eyes roamed over her body. Most people flying across the country would wear something comfortable, most women would wear yoga pants or maybe sweatpants, but not Felicity.

Felicity’s hair was curled, falling just below her ears, she’d cut it short to donate a month earlier. The blue tear drop sapphire earrings he'd given her for their six month anniversary shown at her ears. She wore a sleeveless dress that was navy blue with white polkadots, but insanely short, falling at mid thigh. The material on the bodice drew his eyes immediately there, encased in navy blue fabric and on full display was a glorious amount of cleavage. He’d die of frustration if he had to sit next to her for the next six hours and not touch her. Navy heels finished off the ensemble.

“Oliver, don’t be ridiculous,” she said, annoyance coloring her tone, finishing with her other heel.

"You know what those dresses do to me. You’re not playing fair Smoak!" Oliver ignored the small amount of whine that had edged into his voice.

The first time she'd worn a dress like that it was red, he’d taken her against the living room wall and they didn't make it to their dinner reservation. Second time was a light purple number, that Oliver had to replace. They had ruined it by getting movie theater popcorn hand prints all over it. The third time was an emerald green gauzy one, they missed an important business lunch and Oliver realized he had a problem. Since then there had been countless other run ins with similar dresses. Most of the time whatever had been planned was postponed or delayed. He wished he could say he had better self control, but Felicity didn’t exactly make it easy.

He was convinced she wore them just to tease and frustrate him. It was working, again. But there was no time for games. If they missed this flight not only would she be pissed off. Everyone waiting on them in Starling would be too.

Felicity lifted an eyebrow at him and shook her head and gave a twirl. “You’re nuts, this dress is perfect!” Oliver was on his feet before he even realized it. He caught her around her waist as she came to a stop facing him. She smirked up at him. “It’s adorable and fun and perfect to go meet my two little godsons. There won’t be time to change once we land in Starling so I have to wear it on the flight.”

Oliver felt his phone buzz again in his pocket. He ignored it, the driver could wait a few more minutes. He needed her to feel what that dress was doing to him. He pushed her backward until she was pressed against the wall in their room.

“Oliver..” she whimpered in warning, as her sparkling blue eyes met his. “We have to g-”

He pressed his hips into her letting her feel how affected he was. He got a whiff of the perfume she knew was his absolute favorite. His fingers tightened where they held her.

It was going to be torture to be next to her. She gasped, eyes going wide. He leaned down, lips just millimeters from hers. “If you wear that dress, on the plane, for six hours, I will go mad with want.”

Felicity breathed heavily, little gasps against his chin and neck. He felt goosebumps rise on his flesh and it took everything in him not to close the distance because if he did they would miss that flight. She tried to tip forward, but he held her still. Letting her feel how frustrated he already was. She whined when he backed up putting more space between him.

A frown puckered her brow as he tried to calm his own heart rate. Oliver tried to reign in his need for her. Stupid flirty dresses. He pulled his phone out, shot the driver a message that they’d be down in five, then headed toward their bags.

“Felicity, please change. For my sanity.”

“There is no time now,” she finally managed, following behind him. He groaned and glared at her. “You know Oliver, you can be really hot when you’re frustrated, but the caveman thing doesn’t work on me. You know that."

Felicity purposely brushed against the front of his body as she picked up her clutch from the desk in the corner and moved past him. He groaned. He'd lost this battle. He should have peeked in on her when she was actually getting dressed. He had a feeling she had a hidden agenda, he just wasn’t sure what that was. He sighed grabbing their bags and heading toward the front door.

"Fine let’s go then." He said, leading the way down the stairs as she locked up the apartment. This day would have to end at some point, until then he’d have to grin and bear it.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver settled in his first class window seat. Felicity had gone to say hello to one of her friends that she hadn’t seen in the three months since she’d left being a flight attendant. The day she’d come home to say she resigned he hadn’t been too surprised. Since picking up Laurel’s job she’d thrown herself into her private computer security company. Her workload had doubled since then and so he knew one of the jobs would have to go. He would be lying if he didn’t enjoy having her home every night. Of course the apartment was starting to resemble a computer store, but he loved the happiness that it brought to Felicity’s whole mood.

Oliver smiled as he looked forward over the few rows in front of him til he spotted Felicity. She was talking with Becky as other passengers boarded slipping past the duo. Becky had been over a time a two for dinner with her boyfriend, but he couldn’t remember his name.

Oliver adjusted himself again as he watched Felicity. She’d admitted on the ride over that she had known how he would respond to the dress and apologized. But it really was the one she'd picked out for meeting the twins. Even if they wouldn't remember it, cameras would. If they had made the flight the day before it wouldn’t have been a problem since they would have been in Starling already.

Becky caught him staring and winked. He shrugged and she chuckled. She leaned in close to Felicity and whispered something in her ear. Felicity pulled back, mouth wide open and grinned. Again Becky leaned in. Oliver watched, a nervousness settling into his stomach when Felicity slowly turned her head to look at him. She then whispered something back to Becky before giving her friend a hug and heading toward her seat next to him.

She settled in her seat, rearranging her skirt. Felicity leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Oliver tried to ignore her. He really did, but her silence was never a good thing. He’d learned that early on after he’d moved in with her. She only ever got silent when she was thinking. Chewing over something in her mind. Which hadn't gone well for him too often. So it made him nervous. He cleared his throat as he pulled out his phone, putting it into airplane mode. Just to keep his fingers busy.

“What Oliver?” she addressed him, not opening her eyes.

“Did I do something?” he asked watching her. Her eye opened just barely and she shook her head.

“No of course not, it’s just really early,” she answered, closing her eyes again.

His eyes wandered over her face. She looked relaxed. He caught the swaying of her earring and that was just bad because then he was following the long line of her neck down to the beautiful display just below as she breathed. He swallowed hard. You can do this, you can control yourself.

“So she’s good?” he asked, shifting in his seat. Maintaining control didn't mean he wasn't regretting wearing jeans.

“Yep, Becky’s great. I’m glad she’s on our flight. I missed seeing her. We’ll have to have her and Gage over again soon for dinner, after we get back," she smiled and sighed softly. "I think I’ll rest. I didn’t get much sleep last night with the call from Thea and all the excitement. You should too. It’s going to be crazy when we get there.”

“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” he answered and shifted again. Trying to get comfortable and follow her lead. He closed his eyes and surprisingly, after take off, he was able to drift off to sleep.

Oliver woke up to something brushing against his thigh, and breath against his neck. At first he thought he was still lost in his dream. His eyes popped open when he heard Felicity giggle softly against his ear. Felicity was leaning against his arm as she ran her nose down his neck lips ghosting over his stubbled jaw.

“Oliver,” she whispered, her hand moving up higher on his thigh. Just inches from where he was already painfully hard, effects from earlier and the dream he was just having.

Some of his control slipped as he woke up fully. Oliver groaned and turned toward her, claiming her lips. She moaned softly, opening her mouth and allowing him access. His hand came up, delving into her short locks and holding her close to him. His tongue ran over her teeth, brushing against her tongue before he tugged lightly on her hair to pull her lips away from his. She was half in his lap, her hand rubbing over him. He panted against her lips.

“Felicity, what are you doing?” his voice deep and rough against her lips. He pulled back a little farther so he could look in her eyes. She smiled and pecked his lips once, twice before answering him.

“I’m waking you up, I need to go to the bathroom,” she winked.

His mind was lost on why she felt the need to wake him before she went to the bathroom. They were on a plane, it’s not like he’d worry about where she was. Furthermore, she had the aisle, so waking him wasn’t necessary at all. He shook his head and blinked.

“Why wake me up for that?” his brain already fogged with renewed lust.

Felicity leaned in whispering, “Because you should join me.”

“In the bathroom?” Confusion truly evident now. His brain unable to process her words with her hand still lazily drawing patterns on his thigh.

She sighed, leaned in pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving to his ear, “Don’t tell me you’ve never joined the mile high club?”

Oliver’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest as what she was saying finally clicked. “Right now?”

“Sure why not?” she rubbed up higher and brushed over him as she nipped his earlobe. He groaned and involuntarily he pushed his hips up into her hand, seeking much needed friction.

“Fuck Felicity, we can’t, not here. Not during the day!” Sure he’d joined the mile high club back when he was in college. But it was an overnight flight and everyone was sleeping. This was a day flight. There was no way they wouldn’t be missed from their seats.

They were in first class which was just a major no no when it came to doing what Felicity wanted to do. Two empty seats side by side would be a dead give away. Besides that the bathroom was really cramped, he was a big guy. He tried to avoid using one on an airplane unless absolutely needed. Not to mention that they could go to jail when they landed and so much for seeing the new Merlyn boys.

“Becky has our back,” she whispered licking his earlobe, cutting off his inner thoughts instantly. “I’m sure with as worked up as you are right now we could be really quick.” She punctuated her sentence by squeezing him through his jeans.

“Fuck, okay move,” he growled lowly.

Felicity giggled and sat back in her seat, she looked around. “Okay I’m going to go then you just join me in a few minutes.”

Oliver nodded, his head pounding from the blood rushing through his veins. If she didn’t get moving soon he was going to have her here in the seat. She slipped out of her seat and disappeared toward the front of the plane. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing.

Felicity had lost her mind. He allowed himself a moment to think again about how this could end badly. As a reminder to himself that he’d need to keep her quiet, they’d need to be quick.

Finally he slid out of his row and pulled his t-shirt down over his front. Hoping it hid his bulge long enough to make it to the restroom at the front. He rapped on the one door that was occupied with his knuckle. Becky winked at him from the galley and he just looked away. He tried hard not to think about having an audience. The door opened and Felicity grabbed him.

Somehow they managed to get the door shut, her back pressed against it, as he devoured her mouth. Oliver’s hands already reaching down to edge of the dress, up under the skirt and groaned into her mouth at what little he found there. She had already removed her panty and his fingers easily found her center. He drank the noise she made from her lips as he slid two fingers inside her, aided by how wet and ready she was.

Felicity pulled at his belt, then his pants, her hand skillfully finding him and stroking him. He gasped into her mouth as she squeezed, watching him. His fingers curling and her eyes fluttered shut as he found that one spot that always made her melt. She moved her hips in time with his hand, her own stroking up and down his shaft, making his head light.

“We have to be quick, but I need to be inside you for this,” he breathed and she nodded. Her inner walls gripping his fingers, not quite at the precipice. He’d need her close though. He was wound so tight he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to last. He pulled his fingers from her and she whimpered.

Felicity kissed him, and he felt her hand come up between them, he pulled back and watched as she pulled a foil packet from inside her bra. He gaped at her, realizing that she must have had this in mind from the get go, with her implant they hadn’t had to use condoms in months.

“You planned this?” He breathed out and she nodded.

“This will be easier without a mess to clean up afterward,” Felicity said with a shrug, taking the packet between her teeth to tear it open.

He drew her in for a kiss as she rolled it down his length. Their lips and teeth desperate. The floor shifted beneath them and Felicity giggled as they rocked against the side of the plane. “Turbulence.”

He stilled, there wasn't another one. He looked around them and tried to decide how this would work. There was barely five inches between them..

“Turn around, back to me, spread your legs,” he ordered softly, she’d have to put her knee on the counter but he was sure he could make it work. Her eyes went wide and she grinned with a nod.

“Great idea,” she breathed turning, bracing her hands against the mirror over the small sink. He kissed her neck as his hands slid down over her front, down to the edge of her dress.

“I can’t believe you planned this,” he growled into her ear as he flipped up the skirt, baring her luscious ass. How he wanted to kneel behind her and bite it in retaliation for not letting him in on what she wanted to do. Instead he crouched low as he moved in between her legs, helping her raise her right leg. Thrusting once against her, his length moving through her folds.

“I wanted to surprise you,” she answered gasping as he bumped her clit. He pulled back and grasped himself, finding her entrance. Impatience winning out he surged forward and with one thrust he was deep inside her moist warmth. “Oh Frak!”

“Shh, you have to be quiet,” he grunted as he thrust into her again.

Felicity groaned rocking back against him, driving him deeper inside her. He pulled out and thrust back in, she gripped him so tight his vision blurred. He wound his arms around her front, holding her close as he set a punishing pace, his thighs and legs starting to grumble. One hand found her breast and squeezed, the other moving down, searching for where they were joined. He was much too close and needed her to join him and soon. His fingers slid over her wet flesh as he pumped into her forcefully.

“Oo god Oliver I love you,” Felicity panted, each thrust into her warmth making him groan against her neck. This woman that he loved with every fiber of his being was amazing. He couldn’t believe she’d planned this. She could be so spontaneous and fun, knowing just how to work him up. She knew him better than anyone else in his life. He couldn’t imagine his life without her, ever. He slowed down, stopping entirely and she whimpered. “Oliver?”

He stood holding his body still, buried deep, feeling her flutter around him, so close to her own release. He wanted this with her forever. Maybe not here in an airplane bathroom, though this was a highlight he would never forget. He smiled against her neck, pressing his face in as he felt his heart stutter. “Felicity, marry me.”

Oliver smiled like an idiot when her breathing halted. Her body tightened reflexively, squeezing him and making him squeeze his eyes tight and groan. “What? Oliver, what did you- ”

“Felicity Megan Smoak, marry me,” he repeated firmly and clearly.

It wasn’t a question. It was a request. They’d been together long enough for him to be convinced he would never want to be without her. This was what he wanted, every day for the rest of his life.

They were both breathing hard, bodies joined together in the most intimate way possible. He tightened his grip on her, waiting for her to process his words. Waiting for her decision.

“I can’t believe you’re asking me right now but yes,” she breathed finally. He groaned against her neck as relief poured through him. “Yes yes Oliver I’ll marry you.”

With renewed vigor he started moving again. This time aware that she was louder but he couldn’t care. It could have been seconds or minutes later when she clamped around him, a deep groan leaving them both as he joined her easily, thrusting deep into her heat as the knot of tension snapped. White light blinding him as he stopped moving, holding her tightly against him.

Felicity turned her head finding his lips as they kissed breathlessly. It was messy and needy, their teeth clicking together. He pulled back and pressed his forehead against hers and tried to regain his wits.

“You proposed!” Felicity whispered with a giggle at the end.

“I needed to know you’ll be mine for the rest of my life,” Oliver answered honestly.

It hadn’t been a snap decision. He’d already bought the ring two months ago. He slowly released her, pulling out of her with a groan. She turned, righting her dress in the tiny space as he disposed of the condom. He cleaned himself up as best as possible. Felicity helped him right his clothes and fasten his pants as they kissed lazily.

“I love you Felicity,” he said softly as he kissed her once more. She held his face between her hands.

“And I love you, I can’t wait until I can be Mrs. Oliver Queen,” Felicity beamed at him and his heart stuttered in his chest. He loved the sound of that more than anything in the world.

~o~l~i~c~i~t~y~

Oliver watched as Felicity held one of the twins, the older of the two, Aiden Oliver. She cooed at the baby, leaning in to kiss his forehead. The light coming in through the window caught on her ring, sending a sparkle across the wall nearest her. Even though it was on the wrong hand, it still made his heart clench in his chest and his throat go dry.

Felicity had agreed to be his wife.

On the ride over to meet the boys he had dug the ring out of his backpack and slipped it on her finger. She fiddled with it while they discussed whether to tell everyone or not. Ultimately they decided to wait, to allow the first days of their visit to be about their friends and the new lives they’d brought into the world. They could celebrate with everyone later once Laurel and the boys were out of the hospital. Before getting out of the car she’d moved it to her right hand and kissed him. Knowing she’d chosen him was enough for Oliver.

A soft whimper, and the shifting warm body in his arms drew his attention back to the little one he was holding. Oliver grinned down at his godson, Malcolm Thomas, who looked up at him, eyes wide. Noticing that his light green hat sat askew on his head, Oliver reached to fix it and he chuckled noticing the way the baby wrinkled his nose.

Feeling the weight of his godson in his arms gave Oliver a glimpse of a future he now hoped to one day have. When he had finally broken it off with Laurel nine months before he hadn’t imagined the turn his life would take. All of their lives truthfully. All he had hoped for was for Laurel and Tommy to figure things out, and that he could one day find his own happiness.

Oliver’s eyes sought out Felicity again. Warmth filled his chest as he observed the way she cuddled and cooed at the bundle in her arms. Her eyes met his and a smile of pure happiness spread across her face.

He wasn’t sure what the future would hold, whether they would stay in New York, or one day move back to Starling City as they had debated about just weeks before. Everything would work out and he was excited for the journey ahead. All he’d wanted was to find his own happiness, and he had in Felicity. Happiness had literally been dropped into his lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is now a sequel being posted for this story, you can find it under my works. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> You're wonderful, thanks for reading!! -BMG


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